Chapter 317 - 235: The King’s Authority

"Perhaps I can talk to Anselm. Will he be attending the Royal Court meeting?" Eric felt a little disappointed.

Robert didn’t respond to Eric. Instead, he leaned to the side in his chair, stroking his chin. It was clear he hadn’t groomed himself in days, as his jaw was covered in fine stubble.

"Don’t get your hopes up, Eric. He’s the Pope’s man. He was Lanfrank’s student, but despite his great respect for his teacher, he was always deeply dissatisfied with how Lanfrank favored the Norman Nobility and ravaged the English Church.

Once a precedent is set for certain things, the consequences can be dire.

In fact, before Anselm even took office, he demanded that I return all Church property seized by the Norman Nobility since the Norman Conquest. You should be aware of this; my father squeezed every drop of wealth he could from England, and the Church was no exception.

In the third year of the conquest, he replaced nearly every cleric in a High Level Divine Office, leaving only three Saxon Bishops. This was so the Saxons could still recall their glory—which in truth was nothing to speak of—and thus soothe their fragile and pathetic pride.

It was also a way to more effectively seize the property of the English Church. Most of the gold and silver the English Church had stored away, along with half its lands, ended up in the pockets of the secular Nobility, whether by force or by coercion.

That’s why for a long time, many former Saxon Bishops and Priests supported the Saxon resistance against the Normans.

Anselm is constantly going on and on—Church independence this, Church freedom that. I’m starting to dread even seeing him."

"So that means I have to give up that land. Very well." Eric shrugged and turned to leave.

At this moment, Robert threw something at him.

Eric instinctively caught it.

It was a ring.

"This is..."

"The Archbishop of York’s ring."

"You don’t mean to..."

"Yes. I’m making you the Archbishop of York. That way you can justifiably enjoy all the tax revenue from the Northern Diocese. The north is barren now, but its sheer size makes up for it.

It will bring you an income of about four hundred pounds a year. The land you lost in the Cornwall Region was only worth a hundred pounds a year."

"I think you would be better off simply ordering the Church in Cornwall to return the land." Eric was shocked by Robert’s decision. "If word of this gets to Rome, there’s no telling what judgment the Holy See will pass on you."

"Don’t worry, I’ve already notified the Pope. He proposed that he’d like to meet you first, which is one of the reasons I’m sending you to Italy.

He’s quite fond of you, isn’t he? He even acted as a witness at your wedding. That Marchioness has brought you lands independent of Normandy and England—lands that are far more fertile and beautiful. And more importantly..." Robert stood up. "You’re getting closer and closer to your father’s Apulia. You returned to Italy with glory and have easily acquired a domain nearly equal to your father’s. I heard your uncle, Roger, the Count of Sicily, sent men to attend your wedding as well."

Robert then sat back down, looking at Eric with a smile. "Remember? All you wanted back then was a piece of land. Now, your wish has been granted. Even though your lands aren’t your father’s Apulia, they’re certainly enough to be content with.

You have Gloucester, and now Tuscan as well.

Tuscan is no less fertile than Apulia. In fact, having been untouched by war, it might be even more prosperous.

Honestly, Eric, if you were to reconcile with your father next, I would completely understand and support you."

Eric placed the ring on Robert’s desk. "I refuse."

"Are you afraid of the controversy that will arise from holding both secular and clerical titles? Relax, it’s not that serious. After Lanfrank became the Archbishop of Canterbury, he stripped the Archbishop of York of most of his authority. The Archbishop of York is now no different from an ordinary Bishop, equal to the Archbishop of Canterbury in name only. And who knows how long even that nominal equality will last.

Did you know? My uncle, Odo, the Earl of Kent, became the Bishop of Bayeux when he was only eleven. At the investiture ceremony, the bishop’s hat was big enough to cover his face, and the bishop’s robe made it nearly impossible for him to walk. He was practically carried through the whole ceremony.

He even told me recently that he plans to run for Pope." Robert pushed the ring back toward Eric.

But Eric pushed it back again. "I refuse. Your Majesty, I know what is mine to take and what is not. I am never willing to part with what is rightfully mine, but I will not touch anything that isn’t.

Besides, what you have already granted me is more than enough. I have no need to tarnish your reputation over my own losses; that is something I would never wish to see.

As for the lands in Cornwall, I will continue to negotiate with the Church in Cornwall and reclaim them through reasonable and legal means. I promise I will not resort to violence, for that would displease God, and it would break the promise we once made to the Holy See.

I am unwilling to forsake my promise for personal gain, because compared to a promise, such gains are insignificant.

To do so would make me a base, self-serving villain. Though we must sometimes do evil, and we are by no means unblemished saints, the evil I commit will never come at the cost of my honor. When I do wrong, I will not take joy in it, nor will I shamelessly believe it to be justified.