his treasures:  Robert possessed nothing but the Duchy, which was his birthright.  William had some advantages to enforce the execution of a bequest which was not included even in any of the modes of succession which then were admitted.  He was at the time of his father’s death in England, and had an opportunity of seizing the vacant government, a thing of great moment in all disputed rights.  He had also, by his presence, an opportunity of engaging some of the most considerable leading men in his interests.  But his greatest strength was derived from the adherence to his cause of Lanfranc, a prelate of the greatest authority amongst the English as well as the Normans, both from the place he had held in the Conqueror’s esteem, whose memory all men respected, and from his own great and excellent qualities.  By the advice of this prelate the new monarch professed to be entirely governed.  And as an earnest of his future reign, he renounced all the rigid maxims of conquest, and swore to protect the Church and the people, and to govern by St. Edward’s Laws,—­a promise extremely grateful and popular to all parties:  for the Normans, finding the English passionately desirous of these laws, and only knowing that they were in general favorable to liberty and conducive to peace and order, became equally clamorous for their reestablishment.  By these measures, and the weakness of those which were adopted by Robert, William established himself on his throne, and suppressed a dangerous conspiracy formed by some Norman noblemen in the interests of his brother, although it was fomented by all the art and intrigue which his uncle Odo could put in practice, the most bold and politic man of that age.

[Sidenote:  A.D. 1089.]

The security he began to enjoy from this success, and the strength which government receives by merely continuing, gave room to his natural dispositions to break out in several acts of tyranny and injustice.  The forest laws were executed with rigor, the old impositions revived, and new laid on.  Lanfranc made representations to the king on this conduct, but they produced no other effect than the abatement of his credit, which from that moment to his death, which happened soon after, was very little in the government.  The revenue of the vacant see was seized into the king’s hands.  When the Church lands were made subject to military service, they seemed to partake all the qualities of the military tenure, and to be subject to the same burdens; and as on the death of a military vassal his land was in wardship of the lord until the heir had attained his age, so there arose a pretence, on the vacancy of a bishopric, to suppose the land in ward with the king until the seat should be filled.  This principle, once established, opened a large field for various lucrative abuses; nor could it be supposed, whilst the vacancy turned to such good account, that a necessitous or avaricious king would show any extraordinary haste to put the bishoprics and abbacies out of his power.  In effect, William always kept them a long time vacant, and in the vacancy granted away much of their possessions, particularly several manors belonging to the see of Canterbury; and when he filled this see, it was only to prostitute that dignity by disposing of it to the highest bidder.