en respected, and peace and security
obtained.

The rule of the Red King was not only grievous, it was arbitrary,
capricious, cruel, and without semblance of law. The austerity of the
Conqueror had been conspicuous; equally conspicuous was the debauchery of
his son. The Conqueror had been faithful and conscientious in seeing that
vacancies in the Church were filled up quickly and wisely. The Red King
preferred to leave bishoprics and churches empty so that he might annex the
profits. Lanfranc, a wise and just man, had been the Minister of the
Conqueror; the Red King made Ranulf (nicknamed the Torch or Firebrand)--a
clever, unprincipled clerk--Bishop of Durham and Justiciar. It was Ranulf
who did the King's business in keeping churches and bishoprics vacant, in
violation of law and custom; it was Ranulf who plundered the King's vassals
and the people at large by every kind of extortion, thwarted the protests
of Anselm, and encouraged William in his savage profligacies.

Meek and gentle as Anselm was, he had all the courage that comes of a lofty
sense of responsibility to God, and he stood before kings as the Hebrew
prophets of old had stood, calm and fearless. At Christmas, 1092, three
months before his nomination to the See of Canterbury, Anselm was in
England over the affairs of his monastery, and William invited him to Court
and treated him with great display of honour. Then some private talk took
place between the two, and Anselm said plainly that "Things were spoken
daily of the King, openly or secretly, by nearly all the men of his realm,
which were not seemly for the King's dignity." From that time Anselm stayed
in England, for William refused to give him leave to return to Normandy.

Then in March, 1093 came the King's sickness, which most men expected to be
mortal. Anselm was summoned, and on his arrival bade the King "make a clean
confession of all that he knows that he has done against God, and promise
that, should he recover, he will without pretence amend in all things. The
King at once agreed to this, and with sorrow of heart engaged to do all
that Anselm required and to keep justice and mercy all his life long. To
this he pledged his faith, and made his bishops witness between himself and
God, sending persons in his stead to promise his word to God on the altar.
An edict was written and sealed with the King's seal that all prisoners
should be set free in all his dominions, all debts forgiven, all offences