ecclesiastical benefices; and though he was here obliged
to relinquish some of the ancient rights of the crown, he extricated
himself from the difficulty on easier terms than most princes, who in
that age were so unhappy as to be engaged in disputes with the apostolic
see. The king's situation in the beginning of his reign, obliged him to
pay great court to Anselm: the advantages which he had reaped from the
zealous friendship of that prelate, had made him sensible how prone
the minds of his people were to superstition, and what an ascendant the
ecclesiastics had been able to assume over them. He had seen, on the
accession of his brother Rufus, that though the rights of primogeniture
were then violated, and the inclinations of almost all the barons
thwarted, yet the authority of Lanfranc, the primate, had prevailed
over all other considerations: his own case, which was still more
unfavorable, afforded an instance in which the clergy had more evidently
shown their influence and authority. These recent examples, while they
made him cautious not to offend that powerful body, convinced him, at
the same time, that it was extremely his interest to retain the former
prerogative of the crown in filling offices of such vast importance, and
to check the ecclesiastics in that independence to which they visibly
aspired. The choice which his brother, in a fit of penitence, had made
of Anselm, was so far unfortunate to the king's pretensions, that this
prelate was celebrated for his piety and zeal, and austerity of manners;
and though his monkish devotion and narrow principles prognosticated no
great knowledge of the world or depth of policy, he was, on that very
account, a more dangerous instrument in the hands of politicians, and
retained a greater ascendant over the bigoted populace. The prudence
and temper of the king appear in nothing more conspicuous than in the
management of this delicate affair; where he was always sensible that
it had become necessary for him to risk his whole crown, in order to
preserve the most invaluable jewel of it.[*]

Anselm had no sooner returned from banishment, than his refusal to do
homage to the king raised a dispute, which Henry evaded at that critical
juncture, by promising to send a messenger, in order to compound the
matter with Pascal II, who then filled the papal throne. The messenger,
as was probably foreseen, returned with an absolute refusal of the
king's demands;[**] and that fortified b