Henry having now obtained the great point of his am bition, the sovereignty of Normandy, directed his atten tion to the settlement of his dispute with Anselm. The messengers who had been dispatched to Rome to confer with Pope Pascal II. on the right of the sovereign to confer ecclesiastical benefices, and to receive homage for them, returned with a positive refusal of the king's demands. Ilenrv, however, was determined not to part with his rights so easily ; and sent William de Ware well to negotiate with his Holiness, and to attcmpf some means of accommodating the affair. During the con ference, the English messenger told Pascal, that his master would rather lose his crOW11, than part with such a valuable privilege ; " And 1," replied Pascal, " would rather lose my head, than allow him to retain it." Mat ters now grew serious, and the Pope threatened Henry with excommunication, unless he gave up the dispute. But the king still persevered in maintaining his rights; and by his prudence and abilities, at last brought the quarrel to an amicable compromise. Ile gave up the right of investiture, which consisted in bestowing upon the bishops a ring and crosier as the symbols of their of fice ; and the pope allowed prelates to do homage for their temporal properties and privileges.
From this time, llenry was involved in almost conti nual war on account of Normandy. William, the son of Duke Robert, after the imprisonment of his father, had been entrusted to the care of Belie de St Saen, a noble man of strict honour and integrity ; and when Henry wished to recover possession of his person, Hclie with drew with his charge to the court of Anjou, and soon after obtained for him the countenance of Louis the Gross, King of France. The war which was the con sequence, was the cause of many heavy and arbitrary taxes being imposed upon his English subjects, but was attended by no memorable event. Hostilities on both sides were carried on without energy or decision ; and produced only slight and ineffectual skirmishes on the frontiers. Louis, however, finding that he could not prevail by force of arms, endeavoured to interest Pope Calixtus II. in favour of the young prince. lie carried William to a general council which was held at Rheims, and represented to them the injustice of Henry in be reaving his nephew of his inheritance, and also of de taining in prison his brother Robert, who, on account of his eminent services against the infidels, was entitled to the protection of the holy see. But Henry employed a more powerful instrument to counteract the intentions of his enemies. He ordered his ambassadors to gain the pope and his favourites, with liberal presents and pro mises. The cause of William was consequently heard With coldness; and Calixtus, in an interview which he had with Henry, declared,, that of all men he was, be yond comparison, the most eloquent and persuasive ! The war in Normanq was again renewed ; but Hen ry having passed over with an army, gave the enemy battle at Brenneville. During the conflict, Crispin, a Norman °Meer, rr ho had followed the fortunes of young William, struck the King of England on the head with such force, that all his armour was covered with blood. Henry, however, no way intimidated, returned the blow, and continued the combat with such resolution, that he brought his antagonist to the ground. His troops were
encouraged by his example, and victory declared for the English. A peace was soon after concluded between France and England, and the cause of William was for gotten.
Henry now seemed to have gained the summit of his wishes. Profound tranquillity reigned throughout his extensive dominions, both dt home and on the continent. lIe had secured the affections of his English subjects, by restraining the violence and oppression of his barons.
These mutinous nobles were kept in awe by the vigour of his government, and his enemies were humbled and discouraged by his invariable good fortune. But an un foreseen misfortune blasted his fondest hopes, and dark ened with sorrow the remainder of his clays. This was the death of his only son William, a youth of great pro mise, who had arriN•ed at his eighteenth year, and who had been recognised as his successor, and had received the homage of the barons both of England and Norman dy. When the king was returning from the latter coun try with a numerous retinue of the chief nobility, one of the vessels, in which was NVilliam and several young noblemen his companions, was carried on a rock, and almost immediately went to pieces. The young prince was put into the boat, and had left the ship, when the cries of his natural sister, the countess of Perche, re called him to her assistance. Upon the return of the boat, the crew crowded into it in such numbers, that it went to the bottom, and all perished. A butcher of Rouen, who clung to the mast, and was taken up next morning by some fishermen, was the only person saved; and it is said that on this occasion, above a hundred and forty young noblemen of the principal families of Eng land and Normandy were lost. When Henry heard of the disaster, he fainted away, and never laughed after.
The death of William left Henry without a male heir to his crown. His only surviving daughter Matilda, had been betrothed when only eight years of age, to the Emperor of Germany. But he dying withoth issue, she was afterwards united to Geoffrey of Plantagenet, the eld est son of Fulk, Count of Anjou. The king himself, in hopes of having male heirs, had been induced to marry Adelais, the daughter of the Duke of Louvaine, and the niece of Pope Calixtus. But this princess, who was of an amiable person, brought him no children ; and Henry became apprehensive that his nephew William might eventually be enabled to recover the birth-right of his father. But the death of that prince, who was killed in a skirmish with the Landgrave of Alsace, put an end to his fears ; and his daughter Matilda having been deli vered of a son named Henry, he made the nobility take an oath of succession in her favour. Henry was in Nor mandy when this event happened, and found such satis faction in the company of his favourite daughter, who bore successively two other sons, that he determined to spend the remainder of his days in that country. An irruption of the Welsh, however, recalled him to Eng land ; but as he was preparing for his journey, he was seized with a sudden illness, caused by eating lampreys, of which he died in the 67th year of his age, and 35th of his reign.