A.D. 1100.] RETURN OF ARCHBISHOP ANSELM., Of the return of Anselm archbhhop of Canterbury to England. King Henry, having thus been crowned, gave the bishopric of Winchester to William Giffard, and immediately invested him with all the possessions belonging to the see, contrary to the statutes of the new council, of which we have made mention above. Then, by the advice of all the English church, he sent a solemn embassy abroad to Anselm archbishop of Canterbury, inviting him earnestly to return without delay and take possession of his see. In the meantime duke Robert, brother of the king, having gloriously fulfilled his pilgrimage to Jerusalem, returned to Normandy, after five years' absence, and was received with joy and honour by all his subjects. The king at that time had Ralph* bishop of Durham in custody: he was a man of perverse character, ready for all kinds of wickedness, and the disturber of all England ; he had been made bishop of Durham by king William, and, for his ready compliance with that king, was constituted his procurator throughout the kingdom, to plunder, pull down, and destroy every man's goods for the benefit of the king's exchequer ; but when that unjust king was dead, and Henry was crowned in his place, the new king, with the consent of all the English people, threw him into prison, from which he escaped by corrupting the guards, and crossed over into Normandy, where he stirred up duke Robert against his brother. The duke sent private letters to the nobles of England, showing that he was the eldest son of William, who had conquered England by his arms, and on this plea he claimed the crown of England for himself. When the nobles heard this, many of them favoured his cause, and promised him loyalty and assistance. Robert, in the mean time, prepared to prosecute his claim ; but as he was but just returned from pilgrimage, he deferred his intentions for a time, until a convenient opportunity should arise. The same year Thomas, archbishop of York, died, and was succeeded by Gerard ; and Sigisbert, monk of Gemblours, brought down his elegantly written chronicle to this present year. * Ralph Flambard. G G VOL. ι