Northern mythology

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DAxNISH TRADITIONS. 223
BISHOP WILLIAM'S FOOT-MARK.
At the door on the south side of Roeskilde ^ cathedral^
there is still to be seen on the threshold the place where
Bishop William in his anger set his foot, when he prevented
King Svend Estrithsen from entering the church,
and excommunicated him, for having profaned the holy
edifice with unjust bloodshed.
BISHOP WILLIAMS DEATH AND BURIAL.
When the tidings
reached Bishop William of Roeskilde
that his king and master, Svend, surnamed Estrithsen,
was dead, at an advanced age, in
go and meet the king^s body.
Jutland, he prepared to
Before he set out he went
into the church of the Holy Trinity, called the gravediggers
to him, ordered them first to dig a grave for the
king and then one for himself; as he felt certain that he
should immediately follow his beloved master. He then
entered a carriage and proceeded to meet the royal corpse.
On reaching Topshoge forest he observed two remarkably
high trees, which he ordered his attendants to fell and to
form a coffin of them. Supposing that the bishop intended
the coffin for the king^s body, they executed his order and
placed the coffin on a vehicle to be conveyed after them.
But on emerging from the forest. Bishop AVilliam seeing
the king's body drawing nigh, ordered the driver to stop
he then descended from the carriage,
spread his cloak on
the ground, fell on his knees, and prayed to God for peace
and a happy departure.
When the attendants, who were
standing by, had long wondered that the bishop still continued
prostrate, they raised his head and saw that he
was no more. They then laid his body in the coffin and
conveyed it back to Roeskilde. Thus was his corpse borne
1 Formerly the capital of Denmark and the residence of the Danish
monarchs, whose burial-place is in its venerable cathedral.