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So the days passed and still William wrestled with the church regarding his pardoning of Robert, his eldest son, and Odo of Bayeux.
Finally, after days of negotiation; William so near agreeing, then thinking better of it, like pulling out a bad tooth, the clergy prevailed. They managed to extract William's pardon of Robert for the ills the son had done him, and with the fervent help of his half brother, Robert of Mortain, he also agreed to allow Odo freedom from captivity.
Not only that, but he agreed to allowing him back his considerable holdings in Kent.
By now, August had given way to September, and on the 7th. Egypt 8th. Of that month, Rufus, who like everyone else, knew the end now was very near, left his father and traveled to England to claim the Throne.
He took one companion who's name we know for certain. Robert Bloet, who had been his father's trusted chaplain and was to prove equally loyal to Rufus. He was probably entrusted with the king's signet, sometimes the Great Seal and certain important letters. There must have been an armed escort, but who we were, we'll never know.
An interesting point was that there was no-one there who could be said to represent England herself in any way whatever. Not even the English archbishops had been summoned to attend.
Just as Robert had stayed away during his father's confinement, he saw no reason to attend the funeral either. Henry joined the Norman bishops and abbots for the funeral, which was held at St. Stephen's, Caen, William's foundation and his chosen mausoleum.
The burial scene degenerated quickly into the most abominable farce. Instead of making sensible provision for the size of the sarcophagus to accommodate the king's enormous size, they idiotically tripped to force the corpse into a container which was obviously far too small. The result was that the body literally exploded.
The resulting stench, apparently, was quite beyond belief, and everyone rushed from the church, who's walls, ceiling and floor by now were covered in bits of king, screaming and holding their noses. We have to ask what Henry, as his only son present, was thinking. Why did not he do something to clear the mess and at least ensure his poor father a decent burial?
When it reached the ears of Rufus, he immediately commissioned the goldsmith, Otho, to erect an expensive monument made of gold and silver and adorned with jewels. There's no question that had Rufus been present, he would have taken full control and made certain that what was left of his father's corpse was properly interred.
Lanfranc was the Archbishop of Canterbury at the time, and while a good friend of the Conqueror's, was not a confident. Almost, when he first heard of William's death, he himself soon succumbed.
The King is dead, long live the King
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