Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries

LOSS OF ROYAL FAVOUR.
185
elected the royal camp. There was a flaw somewhere
in his spiritual life, which did not, it seems, rest
upon the rock of humility. Gilbert Foliot, then, was
an ally of the king in the struggle, which was near
at hand, and had begun in fact from the day of St.
Thomas's consecration. The independent action of
the Archbishop usually concerned his right of nomination
or the privileges of his church. In virtue of
his ofhce he conferred the church of Eynesford upon
a cleric named Laurence. William of Eynesford. «/
the lord of the manor, expelled Laurence's people,
for which he was excommunicated by St. Thomas.
The king immediately wrote to the Archbishop bidding
him absolve William. -The answer was that it
was not for the king to decide who should be absolved,
any more than who should be excommunicated.
The king was very angry and said : " Now,
he no longer has my favour "-1 Another question in
point was the election of Clarembald as abbot of St.
Augustine's, Canterbury. Clarembald had stipulated
that his election should take place not in the
cathedral, but in his abbey church, without the customary
profession of canonical obedience to the see. St.
Thomas would not agree, and the matter was taken
to Rome, Henry appearing to favour the abbot-elect.
In other causes the Archbishop plainly showed
the gain to the State from an independent church-
man. He, and he alone, protested against a tax of
two shillin s on every hide of land to be paid to the
1 Morris, p. 3.