All the chief conspirators were seized;some were fined,some were put in prison,some were put to death.The Earl of Northumberland himself was shut up in a dungeon beneath Windsor Castle,where he died,an old man,thirty long years afterwards.The Priests in England were more unquiet than any other class or power;for the Red King treated them with such small ceremony that he refused to appoint new bishops or archbishops when the old ones died,but kept all the wealth belonging to those offices in his own hands.In return for this,the Priests wrote his life when he was dead,and abused him well.I am inclined to think,myself,that there was little to choose between the Priests and the Red King;that both sides were greedy and designing;and that they were fairly matched.
The Red King was false of heart,selfish,covetous,and mean.He had a worthy minister in his favourite,Ralph,nicknamed-for almost every famous person had a nickname in those rough days-Flambard,or the Firebrand.Once,the King being ill,became penitent,and made ANSELM,a foreign priest and a good man,Archbishop of Canterbury.But he no sooner got well again than he repented of his repentance,and persisted in wrongfully keeping to himself some of the wealth belonging to the archbishopric.This led to violent disputes,which were aggravated by there being in Rome at that time two rival Popes;each of whom declared he was the only real original infallible Pope,who couldn't make a mistake.
At last,Anselm,knowing the Red King's character,and not feeling himself safe in England,asked leave to return abroad.The Red King gladly gave it;for he knew that as soon as Anselm was gone,he could begin to store up all the Canterbury money again,for his own use.
By such means,and by taxing and oppressing the English people in every possible way,the Red King became very rich.When he wanted money for any purpose,he raised it by some means or other,and cared nothing for the injustice he did,or the misery he caused.
Having the opportunity of buying from Robert the whole duchy of Normandy for five years,he taxed the English people more than ever,and made the very convents sell their plate and valuables to supply him with the means to make the purchase.But he was as quick and eager in putting down revolt as he was in raising money;
For,a part of the Norman people objecting-very naturally,I think-to being sold in this way,he headed an army against them with all the speed and energy of his father.He was so impatient,that he embarked for Normandy in a great gale of wind.And when the sailors told him it was dangerous to go to sea in such angry weather,he replied,'Hoist sail and away!Did you ever hear of a king who was drowned?'
You will wonder how it was that even the careless Robert came to sell his dominions.It happened thus.It had long been the custom for many English people to make journeys to Jerusalem,which were called pilgrimages,in order that they might pray beside the tomb of Our Saviour there.Jerusalem belonging to the Turks,and the Turks hating Christianity,these Christian travellers were often insulted and ill used.The Pilgrims bore it patiently for some time,but at length a remarkable man,of great earnestness and eloquence,called PETER THE HERMIT,began to preach in various places against the Turks,and to declare that it was the duty of good Christians to drive away those unbelievers from the tomb of Our Saviour,and to take possession of it,and protect it.An excitement such as the world had never known before was created.
Thousands and thousands of men of all ranks and conditions departed for Jerusalem to make war against the Turks.The war is called in history the first Crusade,and every Crusader wore a cross marked on his right shoulder.
All the Crusaders were not zealous Christians.Among them were vast numbers of the restless,idle,profligate,and adventurous spirit of the time.Some became Crusaders for the love of change;
some,in the hope of plunder;some,because they had nothing to do at home;some,because they did what the priests told them;some,because they liked to see foreign countries;some,because they were fond of knocking men about,and would as soon knock a Turk about as a Christian.Robert of Normandy may have been influenced by all these motives;and by a kind desire,besides,to save the Christian Pilgrims from bad treatment in future.He wanted to raise a number of armed men,and to go to the Crusade.He could not do so without money.He had no money;and he sold his dominions to his brother,the Red King,for five years.With the large sum he thus obtained,he fitted out his Crusaders gallantly,and went away to Jerusalem in martial state.The Red King,who made money out of everything,stayed at home,busily squeezing more money out of Normans and English.
