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HICHARD OF DOVER. 201
the murder of St. Thomas, Henry, in his fear of excommunication,
caused all the ports to be watched,
and it was surmised that the same motive took him
to Ireland about that time.
A vacancy of two years and five months followed
the martyrdom of St. Thomas, and then Eichard, "
Prior of Dover, was elected to take his place. As
difficulties were raised in England against the new
archbishop-elect, he was consecrated by the Pope.
At the same time, the vacant suffragan ^^^^^^ sees were
filled up, chiefly by men who had not stood by the
martyred archbishop. The new Bishops of Winchester,
Ely, Norwich, Bath, and Hereford were
among the worst enemies of St. Thomas. The two
remaining nominations were for Chichester and
Lincoln. The Pope took exception to Geoffrey,
Bishop-elect of Lincoln, who was never consecrated.1
Henry had been forced to give up his more extravagant
demands, and to withdraw the Constitutions of
Clarendon, at *least in the letter. Their spirit per-
meated him and his reign, and was signally apparent
in the nomination of St. Thomas's second successor.
Baldwin, Bishop of Worcester, 1184, was then translated
to Canterbury, certainly not by the free choice
of the Christchurch monks, the official electors, but
the devices of Henry.2 Threats, cajolings,
manoeuvrings were used in turn, so that a St. Ber- *
Hard might have condemned the election as un-
1 Morris, * p. 440.
%
-Flanagan, History of the Church in England, i. 410.