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unjustly and dishonorably by a king who violated his own oath and word of honor. More likely the Church would bless Pembroke than disown him, for he had been true, letter and spirit, to what he swore on the relics of the saints. |
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The cheers that followed this statement were so prolonged and so loud that the king was frightened out of his rage, at least temporarily. He abandoned his notion then and there of ordering a levy. He did not expect, nor even want, a positive response. He agreed now with Winchester that it was hopeless to expect to govern a country where each little lordling set himself up as the equal of the king. When the barons saw that the king had conquered Pembroke, their strongest, they would be less quick to cheer when the monarch was insulted. All murmurs against him would die. Then he would be able to be gentle and merciful, and all would come to admire and to love him. |
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It was not easy to cling to this conviction in the face of the roars of approval of London's statementcruel and inaccurate, Henry thought it. No one would ever listen to his side, Henry thought. Resentment made him determined to force them to his will, but he was not fool enough to demand knight service at this moment. God knew what they would do; they might even threaten to seize him. Moreover, those most faithful in the past, Ferrers, Ian de Vipont, and his own cousin Geoffrey, were cheering. Henry rose and left. |
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But his troubles were not over. No sooner was it apparent that the political meeting had reached an irreconcilable impasse than the bishops returned to the attack on the question of the violation of sanctuary. For another day or two Henry resisted, but his heart was not in it, and when Roger of London's thin voice fulled to a deeper bell tone and began to thunder anathema, Henry began to think of ways to accomplish the same purpose without imperiling himself. |
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