1823.] 



sort of hierarchical primacy; but this 

 notion had not been the foundation of 

 any real supremacy in the church of 

 Kent, or its dignitaries. The metro- 

 politan* see of York had remained 

 equal in power to the other, and the 

 two had conjointly exercised the high 

 superintendance over the bishoprics 

 of England. But the chosen of the 

 Normans called up ancient recollec- 

 tions, and brought forward some am- 

 biguous acts of Pope Gregory (sur- 

 named the Great), in order to reduce 

 this double authority to unity, and 

 constitute himself primate or sovereign 

 archbishop of all England,! which, 

 say the historians of the age, was a 

 thing quite novel, — a thing unheard of 

 before the rule of the Normans. J 



1072. — A great council of the Nor- 

 man chiefs was held, in whici) Lanfranc 

 laid it down, as the basis of his preten- 

 sions to the primacy, that "the law 

 ought to flow from that source whence 

 the faith had flowed ; and that, as the 

 province of Kent was subject to Rome 

 because it had received Christianity 

 from her, the province of York ought 

 for the same reason to be subject (o 

 that of Kent."§ This metaphysical 

 argument was calculated to deceive 

 the world ; it was, indeed, the simple 

 argument of respect for previous au- 

 thority. The real motives, of which 

 no one was ignorant, were, however, 

 avowed only in confidence, and in pri- 

 vate interviews. In these Lanfranc 

 toldKingWilliam that one sole primate 

 was necessary for the preservation of 

 the loyalty of the Hconrjuered ; and that 

 it was above all things requisite that 

 the church of the north, — of tiie county 

 of rebellion, — should be subject to 

 that of the south, — the land of loyalty ; 

 and that there ought not to be in York 

 a bishop enjoying the right of anoint- 

 ing a king of the English, lest, either 

 willingly or by force, he might lend his 

 ministry to the consecration of some 



Oppressions follou'ing- the Conquest. 



* Duo metropolitani, potcstate, digni- 

 tate, et officio, pares. (Th, Stiibbs. 1706.) 



t Iste est Laiifraiicii.s, qui primus oni- 

 niiim, &c. (lb.) 



i Nova res, et a tempcie quo in Ant;lia 

 Normanni regnare cupcmnt, inaudita. 

 (Eadmer, 3.) 



$ Sicut Cantia Rubjicitiir Roma-, itii 

 Eboracnm siibjiciturCaiiliac. (M'ill. Malms. 

 378.) 



|| Ad regiii inteKritateni et finiiitateni. 

 (Tho. Stiibbs, 1700) 



^loNTHLY MfVG. Si,. :}8.3. 



497 



Saxon chief, or some Dane elected by 

 the Saxons in revolt.* 



Thomas, the Norman archbishop of 

 York, whose personal independence 

 this measure went to destroy, testified 

 so little devotion to the cause of the Con- 

 quest, as to undertake to oppose this 

 new institution.f He called upon his 

 colleague Lanfranc to bring forward 

 authentic acts in support of his pre- 

 tensions. " It is well known (replied 

 Lanfranc,) that all the privileges of 

 my church were destroyed by fire and 

 pillage."J Such was his ostensible 

 answer; but Thomas was warned in 

 private, that if, for the peace and 

 union of the kingdom,§hedid not con- 

 sent to acknowledge himself subject 

 to his brother of Canterbury, he and 

 all his relatives would be banished 

 from England.|| Thomas desisted ; 

 and did his duty as a faithful son of the 

 Conquest.^ He resigned into the 

 hands of Lanfranc all the power exer- 

 cised by his predecessors south of the 

 Huniber, and retained nothing of their 

 ancient possessions but the vain title 

 of archbishop ; for Lanfranc, under the 

 name of primate, united all powers in 

 his own person. In the language of 

 the conquerors, he became the father of 

 all churches ;** in that of the conquer- 

 ed, all churches fell under his yoke, and 

 became tributary to Am.f f He drove 

 away whomsoever he pleased ; and in 

 their places put Normans, Frenchmen, 

 Lorrainese, men of all countries, of 

 whatever origin,IJ provided it was not 

 English ; for it must be remarked, that 

 the measure which dispossessed the 

 body of the prelates of England, was 

 aimed only at those who w ere English- 

 men 



* Unus ab Eboracensi archiepiscopo et 

 ab iiidigenisillius provinciae rex crearetur. 

 (Tho. Stnbbs, 1706.) 



t Palani miirniuravit. (Wilkins, 326.) 



t Juia combustione atque abohtione 

 quam crclcsia vestra perpessa est, sunt 

 absumpta. (Lanfraiici Opera, 30].) 



^ Propter unitatem et pacem regni. 

 (Tn. Stubbs, 1706.) 



II Sui suoruraqueexpulsionem de Anglift, 

 (lb,) 



U Siiccnbuit ratioriibus Thomas, (An- 

 glia Saira, 253.) 



*• Krclt'siarum pater. (Lanfranci Ope- 

 ra, :i06.) 



It Omncs Aiiiflia^ snbjugavit ecclesias, 

 iiostram tribiitariam sibi fecit. (Gerv. 

 Cant. 1.333.) 



tl De qiikciinqiiL- alid iiatione qiise sub 

 r<rlo est. (Ingulf. 71.) 

 3S 



