the conquest of Saxon England they were soon undeceived. The Flemish also realised their mistake when England became subject to the Normans. As a reward for the services which he had rendered to William, Baldwin V. obtained a grant of 300 marks a year, and, after his death in 1067, the annuity was paid to his younger son, Baldwin VI., during the three years of his rule over Flanders. It is almost impossible to deny the existence of an economic cause for the change in Danish and Flemish policy which followed the Conquest of England.

In the reign of Ethelred the Redeless, merchants from Flanders, Normandy, France and Germany were allowed to trade at the port of London subject to the payment of customs' duties of about 5 per cent. Wool, hides and metals were exported from England. William's grandfather, the tanner of Falaise, must often have dressed English hides. Most of the exported wool went to feed the looms of Flanders, and the Anglo-Flemish trade was principally carried on by merchants from Cologne. In Ethelred's laws the men of the Emperor are singled out "as worthy of good laws, even as we ourselves." This privileged position the Germans retained until the reign of Elizabeth. Their concession, the Steelyard, once stood where Cannon Street Station now stands, and for centuries. the Easterlings of the Steelyard almost monopolised England's, trade with Flanders and Northern Europe. In return for England's exports she received wine from Normandy carried down the Seine, cloth from Flanders, and such Eastern luxuries as found their way along the great commercial route which, starting

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from Venice, crossed the Alps and passed down the Rhine to Cologne.

Less is known of the Scandinavian trade with England. Its centre was probably York, and the "incredible number" of Anglo-Saxon coins found at Wisby proves that it was of much importance. In Canute's reign Scandinavian traders must have gained at the expense of their Norman rivals; but after the accession of Edward the Confessor, the Normans appear to have regained their position in Southern England. The Scandinavian harryings in Edward's reign took place in Essex and Kent: it seems probable that these markets had been closed to Northern traders. The Northern English, dreaming perhaps that the Conqueror would not interfere with their local autonomy, idly watched the conquest of the South and West of England. But in 1068 York was captured

and garrisoned by Normans.

In 1069, when the Danes realised that their connexion with England was being destroyed, a Danish fleet sailed to England. The men of Yorkshire joined the Danes, and William hurried north to crush the movement. He was over all measure severe to the men who gainsaid his will.” By fire and sword Yorkshire was made a desert, to wait in its desolation for the Cistercian monks who made wildernesses blossom like the rose. The death of Baldwin VI. in 1070, whilst William was exterminating the shepherds of Northern England, was followed by civil war in Flanders. In spite of the intervention of William and Philip I. of France, the ruler and the policy of Flanders were changed. Robert the Frisian became

Count and friendly relations with England ceased. On the other hand, Philip of France recognised the new Count and formed an alliance with him by marrying Bertha of Frisia.

The Cluniac reformation was at this time extending its influence over Northern Europe. The Olaf who was allowed by Harold to return to Norway aided the movement, and Saint Canute, who ruled over Denmark until his martyrdom in 1086, was canonised for his devotion to the cause of the Church. When Canute became King of Denmark in 1080 he was the husband of the daughter of Count Robert of Flanders, and Arnold, a missionary monk, was bringing the Flemish into close communion with Rome. Strained relations between William and Gregory VII. enabled the Northern kingdoms to serve Rome whilst they evolved a scheme for the destruction of the Norman rule over England.

The monk Hildebrand began his reign, as Pope Gregory VII., in 1073, by enunciating the papal claims in their most extreme form. He asserted that the Pope was the supreme sovereign with the right of deposing all secular rulers. From the weaker kingdoms, including England, he asked for an immediate acknowledgment of his suzerainty. He sought to use the strength which the Church possessed in her vast estates by making the clergy free from all secular control and entirely dependent on Rome. To separate the clergy from the people amongst whom they dwelt he commanded all priests to adopt the monkish custom of celibacy. His first and greatest antagonist was the Emperor Henry IV., who claimed to be over

lord of Italy and Germany. The Emperor was excommunicated, and the loose feudal organisation over which he ruled declined to support a stricken leader. In 1077 Gregory's victory seemed complete, when Henry in the robes of a penitent begged for pardon at Canossa. But there followed a swift reaction, and with it a fierce struggle between Emperor and Pope.

The Church and Christendom were both rent asunder in this quarrel. An anti-Pope and a second Emperor added to the confusion. The married clergy ranged themselves against the monks; and in 1084 Henry was master of all Rome except the stronghold of St. Angelo, in which Gregory waited for Guiscard and the Italian Normans, who had become his most trusted allies. Henry retired as the Normans approached the sacred city, and Gregory obtained his freedom when Guiscard sacked Rome with more than Vandal fury. Next year the great Pope died, leaving behind him unsolved problems which even now have scarcely ceased to trouble Europe.

The papacy had sanctioned William's invasion in order that the English Church might be brought into complete subjection to Rome; and Gregory asked for more than this. William refused to admit the Pope's claim of suzerainty; but he granted to the clergy the right of being tried in their own courts, and thus created an almost independent body within his dominions. The ancient tribute of Peter's Pence was again sent to Rome, and the question of the celibacy of the clergy was compromised. The cathedral clergy, who had a voice in the election of bishops, were for

bidden to marry, and bishops were warned not to ordain married men; but the parochial clergy were allowed to keep their wives. The question of the King's right of appointment to bishoprics and abbacies was not raised. The tact of Archbishop Lanfranc made this compromise possible; but it merely postponed the inevitable conflict between Church and King, and William was almost drawn into this conflict shortly before his death.

Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and Earl of Kent, as well as the Conqueror's half-brother, raised an army in 1082 which he intended to lead from the Isle of Wight to Italy. He hoped to win the papal throne when he and Guiscard had driven the Emperor from Italy; but William had no wish for a Pope who knew England as Odo did. Odo was impeached, and, when the barons hesitated to judge a bishop, William sent his brother to a castle in Normandy, explaining his conduct by saying that he arrested the Earl of Kent, not the Bishop of Bayeux. Gregory sent a gentle remonstrance, of which no notice was taken. There were others ready to defend the Church. An armada of more than a thousand ships was prepared by the devout rulers of Denmark, Norway and Flanders. Had William been less resourceful there might have been another conquest of England. Mercenary soldiers were imported from Normandy; the English coast was devastated that the invader might not be able to obtain supplies. That he should be unable to distinguish friend from foe, the English were forced to shave and dress like Normans; and William's agents carried gold to Denmark to foster mutiny. St. Canute