[324] He was elected pope the 22nd of April, 1073, and died 25th May, 1085.—Hardy.
[325] Investiture was a symbolical mode of receiving possession of a benefice, dignity, or office.
[326] This seems intended to denote his absolute submission, and willingness to undergo any kind of penance which might be enjoined upon him. Sometimes excommunicated persons wore a halter about their necks; sometimes they were shorn or scourged prior to receiving absolution. Vide Basnage, pref. in Canisium, p. 69, 70.
[327] “The abbey of St. Stephen’s, Caen, is stated to have been completed in 1064, but when it was dedicated is not accurately known: some fix the dedication in 1073, others in 1081, and Orderic in 1077. There was, however, a foundation charter granted subsequently to 1066, for in it William styles himself King.”—Hardy.
[328] “The convent of the Holy Trinity was founded by Matilda 1066, and its church dedicated on the 18th of June in that year. Duke William on the same day, presenting at the altar his infant daughter Cecilia, devoted her to the service of God in this monastery, where she became the second abbess.”—Hardy.
[329] “This disgraceful contention happened in the year 1083. It seems to have arisen from the abbat (Thurstan) attempting to introduce a new chant, brought from Feschamp, instead of the Gregorian, to which the monks had been accustomed.”—Hardy.
[330] Bracton says (lib. ii. c. 8, sec. 4), that the bishop of Durham had as full power in the county of Durham as the king in his own palace. The privileges of the see of Durham trace back to the time of St. Cuthbert.
[331] Walker offered to purge himself by oath from all participation in the murder. See Flor. Wig. A.D. 1080.
[332] “Matilda died 2nd Nov. 1083. She bequeathed to this monastery her crown, sceptre, and ornaments of state. A copy of her will may be seen in the Essais Historiques, by the Abbé de la Rue, tom. ii. p. 437.”—Hardy.
[333] Some MSS. omit from “a dreadful spectacle,” to the end of the paragraph, and substitute thus, “Here he willingly passed his time, here he delighted to follow the chase, I will not say for days but even months together. Here, too, many accidents befell the royal race, which the recent recollection of the inhabitants supplies to inquirers.”