Welcome to the British History podcast. My name is Jamie and this is episode 482.

Eye for an eye.

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All right, when we left off, I mentioned that while Rufus was in Normandy, things in England had been getting interesting in his absence. And let's start with Bishop Wachellen. Now, Wachellin was one of the first people that the bastard had installed in the English church. He'd actually brought him over

directly from Ruan. And this was a very good move. The bishop was shrewd and he was loyal to the

House of Normandy. Wachellen was also a brilliant administrator. He oversaw numerous construction

projects. He also oversaw the royal treasury in

Winchester. And when Lanfran died, Wachellin provided stability and continuity between the

reigns of William the bastard and his son, William Rufus. Wichelan even served as regent

when Rufus was wrecking havoc over in France.

But here's the thing about that. He actually served as co-regent, right alongside Ranulf Flembard.

And where Wachellen was trustworthy, competent, and hardworking, Ranulf wasn't.

But Ranoff was William Rufus' favorite.

And an unscrupulous rival, who just happened to have the king's ear, was quite a dangerous

thing.

And according to the local analyst of Winchester,

the king's ever-increasing efforts at extracting wealth from England, which were likely directly

enacted by Ranulf, well, they were starting to take a toll on old Bishop Wachellen. And this reached a

breaking point in late 1097, when the king's

messengers arrived at Winchester to demand another 200 pounds, right as Bishop Wachellon was trying

...