in 1153. He is stated to have performed a miracle
immediately on his return, and died about immediately afterwards in
1154. He is said to have been poisoned, whilst celebrating mass, out of
the holy chalice itself. It was perhaps the peculiar atrocity of his end
which gave him so great a reputation for sanctity. During his life he
does not seem to have been distinguished above other archbishops for
learning, piety, or good deeds. He was not canonised until 1284. It is
difficult to understand either why the minster had not obtained a patron
saint before this time, or why the choice eventually fell upon St.
William. No doubt the authorities felt the want of a shrine fit to be
enriched by the visitations of pilgrims, and were encouraged by the
example of the shrine of St. Thomas of Canterbury to obtain one as soon
as possible. We can only suppose that they chose St. William for want of
a more distinguished patron. At all events, his shrine never obtained
the celebrity of that of St. Thomas of Canterbury, and in after years
was probably regarded as inferior in sanctity and interest even to that
of Archbishop Scrope in the minster.

He had originally been buried in the nave, where, exactly, is not known,
but it is said that even before his canonisation his tomb was visited by
pilgrims, and was the occasion of miracles. When he was canonised, the
8th of June, the day of his death, was appointed for his festival.

The visit of Edward I. to York in 1283-4 was chosen by Archbishop
Wickwaine as the occasion for the translation of St. William's relics
from his old tomb in the nave to his shrine in the choir. The ceremony
was performed with great pomp in the presence of the King and of his
wife Eleanor. William became one of the King's patron saints, and Edward
gave various gifts of jewels to his shrine.

In the Acta Sanctorum for June 8th, St. William's day, it is recorded
that "Corpus ab imo in altum, a communi loco in chorum Venerabiliter est
translatum."

"His body was translated with all reverence from the lowest to the
highest place, from a common position to the choir."

The shrine was probably placed behind the high altar, and afterwards
between the reredos and the eastern screen, as at Durham and St. Albans.
The bones themselves were deposited in a portable _feretrum_, so that
they might be easily carried in procession.

As in the case of Thomas a Becket, the original place of William's
burial still remained an obje