s vengeance. The famous library
of York, which was destroyed in the fire, deserves a few words of
mention. It was a fine example of the educational work of the Saxon
Church. Under Egbert, and at the instigation of Bede, was founded the
University of York, which soon grew to great importance. Alcuin was its
chief ornament, and gave lessons there in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. The
library was formed in connection with this university, and a list of the
books in it, made by Alcuin himself, has come down to us. They consist
chiefly of the Fathers and of the later Latin poets, with a few books on
philosophy and grammar.

[Illustration: Bootham Bar.]

Thomas of Bayeux, the first Norman archbishop, found everything at York
in ruin and confusion. The minster and its outlying buildings, the
library, and the university were destroyed, and only one of three canons
remained in residence. He increased the number of these, and appointed a
dean--there had not been one at York before--and otherwise changed the
constitution of the minster. He further appointed a chancellor, or
_magister scholarum_, in charge of all schools within ten miles of York.
Among these was the Grammar School in the city, which still survives and
flourishes, under the name of St. Peter's School. In the nave of the
minster there is a window known as the Chancellor's Window, and
containing a representation of Robert Riplingham, a chancellor of the
fourteenth century, lecturing to his pupils. The library was never fully
replaced. The books at the time of the Reformation were few, and were
kept in a building close to the entrance to the south transept of the
minster, and now used as the archbishop's registry. This building was
erected in 1415. Most of these books are still preserved. In due course
Thomas rebuilt the minster, or part of it, on a modest scale. In his
episcopate the struggle for supremacy with Canterbury really began.
Thomas refused to make submission to Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury;
but Lanfranc represented to the king that the supremacy of Canterbury
was necessary as a bond of union between the south and the north. Thomas
was at last compelled to submit to Lanfranc himself, though he made
reservations with regard to his successors. In 1072 Worcester, and soon
after Lindsey and Lincoln, were taken from the see of York. The abbeys
of Selby and St. Oswald in Gloucester were given to the archbishop by
way of some return. Meanwhile the archbishops of