350 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

HAPIV.107s.9th April.

forfeiture , ordered him to be tried, condemned ,and executed. The English, who considered thisnobleman as the last resource of their nation ,grievousty lamented his fate, and fancied thatmiracles were wrought by his reliques, as atestimony of his innocence and sanctity. Theinfamous Judith , falling soon after under theking’s displeasure , was abandoned by all theworld, and passed the rest of her life in con-tempt, remorse, and misery.

Nothing remained to complete William’ssatisfaction but the punishment of Ralph deGuader ; and he hastened over to Normandy,in order to gratify his vengeance on that criminal.But though the contest seemed very unequalbetween a private nobleman and the king ofEngland, Ralph was so well supported both bythe earl of Britanny and the King of France,that William, after besieging him for some timem Dol, was obliged to abandon the enterprise,and make with those powerful princes a peace,in which Ralph himself was included. England,during his absence, remained in tranquillity ; andnothing remarkable occurred, except two eccle-siastical synods, which were summoned, one ati.ondon, another at Winchester. In the former,the precedency among the episcopal fees wasfettled , and the feat of some of them wasremoved from small villages to the most con-siderable town within the diocese. In the secondwas transacted a business of more importance.