E 6 N 
femnized in Weftminfter-abbey, on Chriftmas-day, in the 
year 1066, by Aldred, archbifhop of York. Having thus 
gained poffeffion of London, he can fed a ftrong fortrefs to 
be built, which he ganifoned with his heft troops, in or¬ 
der to fecure it and overawe the citizens; yet, when he 
made his public entry into the city foon after, he was re¬ 
ceived with the greateft acclamations and external figns 
of joy. 
The conqueror foon after fet out to vifit his Norman 
dominions; and at his return from thence, in the fecond 
year of his reign, was received into London with a folemn 
proceflion ; in return for which, and at the interceffion of 
William (the Norman) billiop of London, he granted a 
charter to the citizens in their own language ; a- mighty 
favour at that time, when the French tongue began to 
prevail over all. This charter confifts of four lines and a 
quarter, beautifully written in the Saxon character, on a 
flip of parchment of the length of fix inches, and breadth 
of one, which is preferved in the city-archives as a very 
great curiolity. The feal is of white wax; and, being 
broken into divers pieces, they are fewed up and carefully 
preferved in an orange-coloured filken bag. On one fide 
is the conqueror on horfeback ; and, on the reverfe, he is 
fitting in a chair of ftate ; the rim of the feal being almoft 
gone, the only letters remaining are, M. WILL. But the 
writing of the charter being very fair, the following is an 
exafl copy of it, as printed in Stow’s Survey. 
“ William King greeteth William Bifhop and Godfrey 
Portgrave and all the Burgeffes within London, French and 
Englifh: and I grant that they bee all their law worth, that 
they were hi Edwardis dayes the King; and I will that 
each child bee his father’s heire; and I will not fuffer that 
any man doe you wrong. And God you keepe.” 
Some time after, the conqueror granted to the citizens 
of London another charter in the Saxon language, con¬ 
fiding of three lines finely written on a flip of parchment, 
of the length of fix inches and a half, and breadth of three 
quarters of an inch, which is carefully preferved in the 
fame round wooden box with the firft charter above fpe- 
cified. The fmall feal of this charter is of white wax, 
like the former; but, being broken into divers pieces, 
they are fewed up and preferved in a filken bag. It is fo 
much defaced, that all that can be made of the impreflion 
it bore, is fomething refembling a gate with fome fteeples 
or fpires. However, the writing of the charter is very fair, 
and the contents as follow : “ William the King greets 
William the Bifhop, and Swegn the Sheriff, and all my 
Thanes (or Nobles) in Eaft Saxony ; whom I hereby ac¬ 
quaint, that, purfuant to an Agreement, I have granted 
to the People my Servants the Hide of Land at Gyddef- 
dune. And alfo, that I will not fuffer either the French 
or the Englifh to hurt them in any Thing.”—It feems 
that, by the words “the people my fervants,” we are to 
underftand the Londoners, who keep this deed, and got 
poffeflion of the land at Gyddefdune, or Godfden, in Hert- 
fordfliire, by virtue thereof; though it is a molt notorious 
example of the inadvertency of thofe days, to make a 
grant to any people, without a particular fpecification of 
their capacity and name; or fo much as the date of the 
year, or of the king’s reign, in either of thefe charters. 
As a curious part of the ecclefiafrical hiftory of London 
anfwering exactly to this period of time, we mu ft ftate, that 
in the year of our Lord 1075 there was a national coun¬ 
cil of bifhops and abbots, where many other of the cler¬ 
gy were prefent, convened at London ; in which was re¬ 
gulated the precedency of epifcopal fees; and it was or¬ 
dained, that every prelate fhould rank according to the 
priority of his confecration, excepting thofe, who, by an¬ 
cient cuftom, had particular privileges annexed to their 
fees; and that the archbifhop of York fhould be feated 
at the right hand of the archbifhop of Canterbury; the 
bilhop of London at his left; and the bifhop of Winchef- 
ter next to the archbifhop of York. It was further or¬ 
dained, that r.o bifhop’s fees fhould for the future be 
placed in villages or fmall towns, And accordingly, Her- 
D O N. sm 
man, bifhop of Shereburn, was ordered to remove his chair 
to Salifbury; Stigand to remove from Selfey to Chichef*- 
ter; and Peter of Lichfield to Chefter. And it was fur¬ 
ther ordained, that no perfon, under the dignity of a bi¬ 
fhop and abbot, fhould ipeak in the council, without leave 
from the metropolitan. 
In the fame year, the king promoted Hugo de Orivalle 
to the fee of London, who had the reputation of a perfon 
of great abilities. For which reafon, the conqueror joined 
him in commiliion with Aldred archbifhop of York ; who, 
with the affiftanceof twelve of the moft f’ufficient and bell- 
qualified in each county, were ordered to make fearch for 
a body of the old laws of England, called the Laws of St. 
Edward the Confeffor. Thele two were appointed to re¬ 
ceive the report of the twelve men in each county, and to 
fet down in writing what they fhould deliver upon. oath. 
The Londoners held their deceafed bifhop, William, in 
fuch elfeem, for the favours he did for them with the king, 
amongft which was their charter, procured by his intereft 
at court, that they inftituted an anniverfary folemnity to 
his memory; for, being fumptuoufly entombed in St. 
Paul’s cathedral, the magiftrates of London ufed to go in 
proceflion to his tomb once a-year. From thi3 ancient 
religious cuftom originates, perhaps, the feveral vifits 
which the lord mayor, the fherift's, and the court of aider- 
men, make yearly to the fame church. 
In the year 1077 happened the greateft cafual fire, tha£ 
till this time ever befel the city; whereby the major part 
of it was laid in allies. About two years after, the con¬ 
queror caufed the prefent great white fquare Tower of 
London to be erefted (in the place where it is fuppofed 
he built his fort above-mentioned), for the more effectu¬ 
ally keeping the citizens in obedience, whofe fidelity at 
this time, it feems, he had fome reafon to fufpeft. The 
furveyor of the work was Gundulph bilhop of Rochefter 3 
which effectually deftroys the idle and abfurd ftory of Fitz- 
ftephen the monk, who reports it to have been erefted 
by Julius Ctefar. 
In 10S6, another very dreadful fire happened, which be¬ 
gan at Ludgate, and confumed the greateft and heft part 
of the city, with the cathedral of St. Paul; which, how¬ 
ever, was foon rebuilt more magnificently than before. 
In the reign of William Rufus alfo, London buffered 
confiderably by fires, inundations, and hurricanes; and 
feems to have been greatly depreffed by the tyranny of 
that prince. It is afl'erted by William of Malmfoury, 
that, having received very rich prefents from the Jews of 
this city, who were brought from Rouen by his father, 
and fettled in the place to this day called the Old Jewry ; 
he was fo tranfported with joy, as to encourage them to 
difpute with the Chriftians concerning their refpeCtive 
faiths ; alluring them, that, if they obtained the victory, 
he would himfelf become one of their religion ; but hif¬ 
tory does not inform us whether the debate was ever held. 
All the hiftoriographers of London agree, that a violent 
tempeft happened in November of the year 1091, in which 
many churches, and upwards of fix hundred houfes, were 
blown down, and the Tower much damaged; but the 
melt extraordinary circumftance is, that four of the raf¬ 
ters of the roof of the church of St. Mary-le-Bow, which 
was blown off, were pitched fo deep into the ground of 
the ftreet, that, although they were twenty-fix feet in 
length, fcarcely four feet remained above ground ; “ for,’ 0 
fays James Howell, in particular, “ the city of London 
was not paved, but a moorifh ground.” This inelegance 
was not peculiar to London in thofe times, but was com¬ 
mon to many cities in foreign countries. A confiderable 
part of this city was again deftroyed by fire, in the yeae 
1093, and this calamity was fucceeded by a great fcarcity 
of corn, and almoft all the neceffaries of life. 
In the year 1097, William Rufus impofed grievous- 
taxes on his fiibjefts throughout the kingdom, to defray 
the charges of rebuilding London-bridge (which had 
carried away by a flood), of erefting a.ftrong wall round 
the Tower of London, and building Weitminfter-hall 
a§. 
