John, he cited before him Stigand, Archbishop of
Canterbury, to answer for his conduct. The primate was accused of
three crimes: the holding of the see of Winchester, together with that
of Canterbury; the officiating in the pall of Robert his predecessor;
and the having received his own pall from Benedict IX., who was
afterwards deposed for simony, and for intrusion into the papacy [g].
These crimes of Stigand were mere pretences; since the first had been
a practice not unusual in England, and was never any where subjected
to a higher penalty than a resignation of one of the sees; the second
was a pure ceremonial; and as Benedict was the only pope who then
officiated, and his acts were never repealed, all the prelates of the
church, especially those who lay at a distance, were excusable for
making their applications to him. Stigand's ruin, however, was
resolved on, and was prosecuted with great severity. The legate
degraded him from his dignity: the king confiscated his estate, and
cast him into prison, where he continued, in poverty and want, during
the remainder of his life. Like rigour was exercised against the
other English prelates: Agelric, Bishop of Selesey and Agelmare, of
Elmham, were deposed by the legate, and imprisoned by the king. Many
considerable abbots shared the same fate: Egelwin, Bishop of Durham,
fled the kingdom: Wulstan, of Worcester, a man of an inoffensive
character, was the only English prelate that escaped this general
proscription [h], and remained in possession of his dignity. Aldred,
Archbishop of York, who had set the crown on William's head, had died
a little before of grief and vexation, and had left his malediction to
that prince on account of the breach of his coronation oath, and of
the extreme tyranny with which he saw he was determined to treat his
English subjects [i].
[FN [g] Hoveden, p. 453. Diceto, p. 482. Knyghton, p. 2345. Anglia
Sacra, vol. i. p. 5, 6. Ypod. Neust. p. 438. [h] Brompton relates,
that Wulstan was also deprived by the synod; but refusing to deliver
his pastoral staff and ring to any but the person from whom he first
received it, he went immediately to King Edward's tomb, and struck the
staff so deeply into the stone, that none but himself was able to pull
it out: upon which he was allowed to keep his bishopric. This
instance may serve, instead of many, as a specimen of the monkish
miracles. See also the annals of Burton, p. 284. [i] Malmes. de
Gest