298 
among the people of his race,—made 
him an active partisan of the marriage; 
but, when the reports which were cir- 
culated with respect to Matilda reach- 
ed his ear, he declared that he would 
never consent to take a spouse from 
God, to give her to a carnal husband. 
However, to convince himself of the 
real truth, he determined to interro- 
gate Matilda himself. She denied 
that she had ever been devoted to 
God ; she declared that she had never 
willingly taken the veil, and she offer- 
ed to prove it before all the prelates 
of England. “TI own (said she,) that 
I have often appeared veiled ; but it 
yee because in early youth, when un- 
cr the care of my aunt Chiistine, she 
was accustomed to cover my face with 
a piece of black stuff, to protect me 
from the open lubricity of the Norman 
youths, who had no respect for female 
chastity. If I refused to wear it, she 
treated me very harshly. I wore it in 
her presence; but when she was away 
I threw it on the ground, and tram- 
pled on it with childish rage.”* 
_ Anselme did not choose to pronounce 
individually a decision in this business. 
He convoked, in the city of Rochester, 
an assembly of bishops, abbots, monks, 
and laity ; and the witnesses who were 
examined confirmed the statements of 
the Saxon maiden. Two archdeacons, 
—Guillaume and Hombarild,—were 
sent to the convent where she had been 
brought up, and the sisterhood con- 
firmed her statement. When the 
meeting was about to deliberate, An- 
selme retired, lest he should be sup- 
posed to exercise a personal influence 
on their decision ; and, when he re-en- 
tered, the Norman clerk, who was 
charged to deliver their opinion,+ thus 
expressed himself: ‘“‘ We think the 
young woman is free, and may dispose 
of her body. We are authorised by a 
determination of the venerable Lan- 
franc, when a great number of mar- 
ried and unmarried women,—who had 
fled for refuge to the convents, and 
had taken the veil, to secure themselves 
from the warriors of the great William, 
the conqueror of this country,—re- 
quired their liberty. Upon the advice 
ofa general council, Lanfranc decided, 
that they could not be compelled to 
continue to wear the veil, and that 
they were entitled to high praise ‘for 
their dgfermination to preserve their 
* Eadmer, 57. 
t Ib. 
Elucidations of Portions of English History. 
his 
[Nov. | 9 
chastity.”* _Ansclme replied, that he 
approved of their decision; and, a few 
days afterwards, he celebrated the 
marriage of the Norman king with the 
Saxon maiden; but, before the cele- 
bration took place, he mounted on an 
elevation before the gates of the 
church, and explained to his hearers 
the debates and the decisions of the 
“erave men” whom he had convoked, 
Eadmer, a Saxon priest of Canterbury, 
and an eye-witness, narrates these 
events. ‘ But (says Eadmer.) all this 
could not subdue the malice of heart 
of certain men,”—those Normans who 
complained of the humiliation of their 
king. They loaded him and his Eng- 
lish wife with scorn and mockery. 
They called them Godric and Godgive, 
(Saxon words,) as terms of derision 
and opprobrium.t ‘‘ Henry knew it, 
—heard it, (says an old historian,) and 
affected to burst into laughter; but he 
concealed his inward indignation, and 
answered the insults of fools with a 
forced silence.”{ When Duke Ro- 
bert disembarked in Normandy, many 
of the great personages of Mngland 
hastened to him; others promised him 
assistance on his arrival: their mes- 
sengers urged him to activity, assuring 
him that he had only to cross the 
channel to be king,§ and to lower to 
proper rank the ‘‘ Godfather 
Godric.”’|| 
The English faithfully served him 
to whom they were pledged. They 
were pleased, indeed, with an oppor- 
tunity of gratifying their hatred by the 
destruction of Normans, though they 
fought under a Norman. banner, 
Menry vanquished his brother; but the 
iscrable triumphs of the Anglo- 
Saxons,—flattering as. they were to 
their pride, their vanity, or even their 
patriotism—brought no consolation, 
no cessation of suffering, to their sub- 
dued race. They conquered enemies, 
indeed, but it was on behalf of other 
enemies; for, (hough Henry had mar- 
ried a Saxon,—though he bore a Saxon 
nick-name,—he. was a Norman at 
heart; and his favourite minister, the 
Count de Meulant, was distinguished 
for hisscorn and hatred of the English 
people. The popular voice denoimi- 
nated 
* Wilkins acta cociliorum, a.p 1075. 
+ Will, Malmsb. 156. 
t Ib. 
§ Ib. 
|| Gedrych Godfadyr. (H. Knighton, 
2575.) , 
