and temporaltie, spending the monie vpon the reparations and buildings
of the Tower, & Westminster hall, as is before remembred. Besides
this, his seruants spoiled the English of their goods by indirect
meanes: but especiallie one Rafe sometime chaplaine vnto William the
Conquerour, & at this time the kings proctor and collector of his
taskes and subsidies was so malicious & couetous, that in stéed of two
taskes, he would leuie thrée, pilling the rich, and powling the poore,
so that manie through his cruell dealing were oftentimes made to
forfeit their lands for small offenses: and by his meanes also diuerse
bishoprikes were bought and sold as other kinds of merchandizes,
whereby he was in singular fauour with the king. [Sidenote: The
clergie out of order.] The clergie also were vsed verie streightlie,
and (as I suppose) not without good cause; for suerlie in those daies
it was far out of order, not onelie in couetous practises, but in all
kinds of worldlie pompe and vanitie: for they had vp bushed and
braided perukes, long side garments verie gorgeous, gilt girdels, gilt
spurs, with manie other vnséemelie disorders in attire. To be short,
the contention grew so hot betwixt the king and Anselme, who would
also haue corrected such vices in the clergie (as some write)
[Sidenote: _Matth. Paris._] that in the end the archbishop was quite
cast out of fauour. [Sidenote: A thousand markes demanded of Anselme.]
There are which alledge the verie first and originall occasion of
their falling out to be, for that the archbishop denied to paie a
thousand marks of siluer at his request; in consideration of the great
beneuolence shewed in preferring him to his sée, whereas the
archbishop iudged the offense of simonie, to rest as well in giuing
after his promotion receiued, as if he had bribed him aforehand, and
therefore refused to make anie such paiment: [Sidenote: _Eadmerus._]
but yet (as Eadmerus writeth) he offered him fiue hundred pounds of
siluer, which would not be receiued, for the king was informed by some