Harold : the Last of the Saxon Kings — Volume 12 eBook

After the conquest, as prelate of Canterbury, Lanfranc became the second man in the kingdom—­happy, perhaps, for England had he been the first; for all the anecdotes recorded of him show a deep and genuine sympathy with the oppressed population.  But William the King of the English escaped from the control which Lanfranc had imposed on the Duke of the Normans.  The scholar had strengthened the aspirer; he could only imperfectly influence the conqueror.

Lanfranc was not, it is true, a faultless character.  He was a priest, a lawyer, and a man of the world—­three characters hard to amalgamate into perfection, especially in the eleventh century.  But he stands in gigantic and brilliant contrast to the rest of our priesthood in his own day, both in the superiority of his virtues, and in his exemption from the ordinary vices.  He regarded the cruelties of Odo of Bayeux with detestation, opposed him with firmness, and ultimately, to the joy of all England, ruined his power.  He gave a great impetus to learning; he set a high example to his monks, in his freedom from the mercenary sins of their order; he laid the foundations of a powerful and splendid church, which, only because it failed in future Lanfrancs, failed in effecting the civilisation of which he designed it to be the instrument.  He refused to crown William Rufus, until that king had sworn to govern according to law and to right; and died, though a Norman usurper, honoured and beloved by the Saxon people.

Scholar, and morning star of light in the dark age of force and fraud, it is easier to praise thy life, than to track through the length of centuries all the measureless and invisible benefits which the life of one scholar bequeaths to the world—­in the souls it awakens—­in the thoughts it suggests! [283]

NOTE (F)

Edward the Confessor’s reply to Magnus of Denmark who claimed his Crown.

On rare occasions Edward was not without touches of a brave kingly nature.

Snorro Sturleson gives us a noble and spirited reply of the Confessor to Magnus, who, as heir of Canute, claimed the English crown; it concludes thus:—­“Now, he (Hardicanute) died, and then it was the resolution of all the people of the country to take me, for the king here in England.  So long as I had no kingly title I served my superiors in all respects, like those who had no claims by birth to land or kingdom.  Now, however, I have received the kingly title, and am consecrated king; I have established my royal dignity and authority, as my father before me; and while I live I will not renounce my title.  If King Magnus comes here with an army, I will gather no army against him; but he shall only get the opportunity of taking England when he has taken my life.  Tell him these words of mine.”  If we may consider this reply to be authentic, it is significant, as proof that Edward rests his title on the resolution of the