57. To Hugh, Archbishop of Lyons

Anselm, servant of the Church of Canterbury, to his lord and father Hugh, the revered Archbishop of Lyons, truly loved mother church; mayest thou comprehend what is of deepest and greatest worth.

What I have done since I left your amiable paternity, and what there is between the King of England and myself, I need not give a long account of in a letter, since the bearers of this can tell it better and more fully by word of mouth. But since in all I do I would rather, if so it might be, go by your advice than by that of any man I have ever known, and particularly in this business for which I am sending these messengers to Rome, I humbly ask that they may be instructed and fortified by your prudence. I even venture to ask that if it seems advisable to your holiness, you might suggest something to the lord pope so that he might know how to set this matter right. For you know that when any matter depends upon the advice of several people, as they have not all the same impression of it, so do they not all offer the same suggestion. Therefore since I am sure that your mind is firmly fixed in the truth, I should wish your opinion to be present wherever the liberty of the Church of God and its true utility are under discus sion. The whole difficulty of the case between me and the king appears chiefly to consist in this, that the king, although he will I hope suffer himself to be conquered as to the ecclesiastical investitures by the decrees of the apostolic see, yet will not, so he says, dismiss the nominees of the patrons. On which point he is refer ring by his embassy to the apostolic see, that he may obtain leave thence to carry out his own will. Which should he obtain, I doubt as to what I ought to do if he should refuse to let any religious elected be made the king's man for a bishopric or abbey. It would appear very difficult for me to enjoin this upon him as a matter of obedience; and if I were not to do it, I should appear to be acting according to the will of the impious, and allowing audacity to gain unworthy possession of dignities. As to those also who have already accepted forbidden investitures, and those who consecrated them, I think the king will demand that they shall continue to hold what they presumed unlawfully to assume. Wherefore on these matters, and those concerning which I seek wisdom from you through my messengers, I propose to get your opinion. May Almighty God keep your holiness safe in all prosperity. Amen.