[2] "William, in short, had no king of right to the crown, whether by
birth, bequest, or election." (E. A. Freeman's "Short History of the
Norman Conquest," p. 65.)
[3] Guizot; see also note 1 on page 64.

124. William's Death (1087).

In less than a year from that time, William went to Normandy to quell
an invasion led by his eldest son, Robert. As he rode down a steep
street in Mantes, his horse stumbled and he received a fatal injury.
He was carried to the priory of St. Gervase, just outside the city of
Rouen.

Early in the morning he was awakened by the great cathedral bell. "It
is an hour of praise," his attendant said to him, "when the priests
give thanks for the new day." William lifted up his hands in prayer
and expired.

125. His Burial (1087).

His remains were taken for interment to St. Stephen's church, which he
had built in the city of Caen, Normandy. As they were preparing to
let down the body into the grave, a man suddenly stepped forward and
forbade the burial. William, he said, had taken the land, on which
the church stood, from his father by violence. He demanded payment.
The corpse was left on the bier, and inquiry instituted, and not until
the debt was discharged was the body lowered to its last resting
place.

"Thus," says the old chronicle, "he who had been a powerful king, and