vate nobleman and the king of England, Ralph
was so well supported both by the earl of Brittany and the king of
France that William, after besieging him for some time in Dol, was
obliged to abandon the enterprise, and make with those powerful princes
a peace, in which Ralph himself was included England, during his
absence, remained in tranquillity; and nothing remarkable occurred,
except two ecclesiastical synods, which were summoned, one at London,
another at Winchester. In the former, the precedency among the
episcopasees was settled, and the seat of some of them was removed from
small villages to the most considerable town within the diocese. In the
second was transacted a business of more importance.

{1076.} The industry and perseverance are surprising, with which the
popes had been treasuring up powers and pretensions during so many ages
of ignorance; while each pontiff employed every fraud for advancing
purposes of imaginary piety, and cherished all claims which might turn
to the advantage of his successors, though he himself could not expect
ever to reap any benefit from them. All this immense storm of spiritual
and civil authority was now devolved on Gregory VII., of the name of
Hildebrand, the most enterprising pontiff that had ever filled that
chair, and the least restrained by fear, decency, or moderation. Not
content with shaking off the yoke of the emperors, who had hitherto
exercised the power of appointing the pope on every vacancy, at least
of ratifying his election, he undertook the arduous task of entirely
disjoining the ecclesiastical from the civil power, and of excluding
profane laymen from the right which they had assumed, of filling the
vacancies of bishoprics, abbeys, and other spiritual dignities.[*] The
sovereigns, who had long exercised this power, and who had acquired
it, not by encroachments on the church, but on the people, to whom it
originally belonged,[**] made great opposition to this claim of the
court of Rome; and Henry IV., the reigning emperor, defended this
prerogative of his crown with a vigor and resolution suitable to its
importance.

[* L'Abbe Conc. tom. x. p. 371, 372, com, 2.]

[** Padre Paolo sopra Benef. Eccles. p. 30]

The few offices, either civil or military, which the feudal institutions
left the sovereign the power of bestowing, made the prerogative of
conferring the pastoral ring and staff the most valuable jewel of the
royal diadem: especially as the g