king Eichard, and his heirs, and would, if he should die •without issue, receive earl John, the brother of king Eichard, as their king and lord. They also swore fealty to him against all men, saving always their fealty to king Eichard, his brother. Upon this, the chancellor, being deposed, made oath that he would surrender all the castles throughout England, and immediately surrendered to him the Tower of London ; and he delivered it to the archbishop of Eouen, as also Windsor, and some other castles, but not all of them. On this occasion, Hugh de Nunant, the bishop of Coventry, wrote to the following effect :— Th Letter of Hugh, hishop of Coventry, on the deposition of William, lishop of My, the king's chancellor. " The things that are committed to writing are beyond doubt bequeathed to posterity, to the end that the page that is confirmed by the testimony of a few, may either advise for the safety, or redound to the benefit of, many: and may what is here set down be considered as an illustration of the truth of the same. For many things are committed to writing by way of caution, that the same may be done ; and many, again, that they may not be done ; that so the church of Christ may profit on either side, and may both seek what is to be coveted and shun what is to be avoided. For this reason it is our wish that the fall of the bishop of Ely should, by letters attesting the same, be brought to the notice of all ; to the end that in this illustration humility may always find that by which to profit, and pride that which to hold in dread. For he was a great man among all the people of the west, and, as though gifted with a twofold right hand, wielded the power of the kingdom and the authority of the Apostolic See, and was in possession of the king's seal over all lands, so as to be enabled to govern according to his own will, and of his own power to bring all things to completion ; even in the same degree of estimation as both king and priest together was he held : nor was there any person to be found to dare to offer resistance to his will. For he said, and the thing was done, he commanded, and all means were discovered. In his hands were the royal treasures, the whole of the king's riches, and the entire exchequer, so much so that all property whatsoever that swam beneath our sides was no longer said to belong to the king, but to him. For