"prelates, whofe intereft fecured him the fuf"frages of the clergy. This body was then "fo powerful, that the lay-lords who were "not in the plot, did not think themselves "able to oppofe the design, which they faw was entirely formed, of placing Stephen on the throne; fince all the bishops declared in "his favour, not one attempted to speak for "Matilda, fo great an influence had the ex

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ample and authority of the clergy over the "minds of the nobles and people." How falfe the affertions were, on which the bishops grounded the evafion of their oaths, appears from the opinion of Malmsbury. That hiftorian mentioning the reafon, which the bishop of Salisbury alledged in his hearing, concludes with faying, that he does not mention it there as giving any credit to those words of a man, who could fo well accommodate himself to all times, as fortune fhifted the scene, but in order to difcharge his duty as an hiftorian. Let us now see how they behaved to that Stephen, whom they had placed on the throne. They were not long before they shewed the ufe, they intended to make of the advancement of a king, who was indebted folely to themfelves for it. They fuppofed, he would not think it his intereft to difturb them in the

* Malmsb. fol. 99.

defign they had formed, of embracing the prefent opportunity to render themselves formidaable, and become independent of him and his fucceffors for the future. In order to accomplish this project, they not only fortified fuch caftles, as they had already in their hands, but erected feveral new ones. They outvied all the nobility in the magnificence of their houses and retinue, and affected to appear fo numerously attended on all occafions, that they looked much more like military chiefs at the head of fo many little armies, than the meek and peaceable pastors of Christ's flock.

It cannot be wondered at, that a behaviour of this kind alarmed the king, and almost neceffitated him to take those steps towards depriving fome of them of their caftles, which afterwards involved him in fo much trouble. It was not only his own private fentiments, which determined him in that point, but the advice of moft of the nobles concurred with his own opinion, that fome stop should be put to the formidable power of the bishops *, which increased fo faft. But however defirable this might be, it was now not to be effected: the clergy had fo great an influence over the lower people, that the nation was in Malmsb. fol. 102.

K

was

a flame at the king's feizing the bishop's caftles. Religion itself was looked upon as invaded, which, as Rapin fays, was now thought to confift in upholding the church in whatever privileges and immunities fhe herself pleafed to affume. The bishops openly talked of oppofing the king by arms, and became fo strong, that great numbers of the lay lords thought it fafeft to go over to their fide. Stephen had indeed fome time before given the people in general too much caufe to alter the good opinion they had once entertained of him; and we find feveral barons had then taken up arms against him in defence of their liberty but that affair had at this time been made up, and, as I before observed, it was now the fentiments of moft of the lay-lords, that the power of the bishops required a stop to be put to it: though when the attempt had embroiled the king in these troubles, but few of those lords had recovered their efteem for him fo far, as to affert his caufe with the zeal, they would otherwise have done, and draw upon themselves the fury of a body of men at that time more formidable than their own.

But that the ground of this quarrel was no national cause, appears further from hence, Had the point in difpute concerned the public liberty, the king must have answered for his

conduct only before the great council of the kingdom; whereas in this cafe he was cited before a fynod at Winchester *, convened by the bishop of that place as legate: which not only fhews the difpute to be particular with the bishops, but was itself a greater infult offered the community, than ever Stephen had been guilty of.

England, and

She no fooner

During this difpute, Matilda thought it a favourable juncture to land in claim her right to the crown. arrived, than the clergy were forward to declare for her but the bishop of Winchester, who had hitherto chiefly excited and promoted the troubles of the king his brother, begun now to see his error in raising the storm fo high, and that his own ruin would be infeparable from that of his brother. With this confideration, he, at first, did him some service; but no fooner had the chance of war declared itself in favour of Matilda by Stephen's being taken prifoner, than he again threw up his brother's caufe, and won by a promise, that he should difpofe of all ecclefiaftical preferments, undertook to procure Matilda the fuffrages of the clergy to elect her queen. In order to this he convened a fynod by his legatine authority, the day before the opening of

*Malms.

which he conferred in private first with the bishops, then with the abbots, and lastly with the arch-deacons. When the time appointed for their meeting was come, after he had made a fpeech, in which he publickly afferted the principal right of chufing a prince belonged to the clergy, the fynod declared Matilda queen. It was thus with an unheard-of, and unprecedented infolence the clergy alone pretended to give the nation a fovereign without consulting the barons, nay contrary to the fentiments of many of them, who had at this time fent their deputies with thofe of the city of London to demand Stephen's liberty. But this meffage had no other effect than to draw an excommunication upon the king and his ad

herents.

However monftrous this conduct appears to be, the measure of their infolent and treacherous proceedings was not yet compleated: for in a very short time afterwards the bishop of Winchester having been disobliged by Matilda, he once more deferted her caufe; and affembling another fynod at Westminster † he found his brethren nothing loath in undoing, what they had fo lately done at Winchester. Stephen, who was now at liberty, having been

Malmsb. fol. 106. Ibid. fol. 108.