husband, took the veil as a nun at Marcigny ;* of the fourth who had been promised to Harold afterwards king of the English, and of the fifth who was betrothed to Alphonso the king of Galicia, I have not heard further mention. Besides, king William in his youth had so regarded the laws of chastity, that it was publicly said that he was impotent ; nevertheless, being advised to marry by the opinion of the nobles, he so conducted himself, that for many years he was not marked by suspicion of any sin. To those under his subjection he appeared submissive, but to those who rebelled against him he was inexorable ; every day he attended mass, and carefully heard the morning and evening services at the regular hours ; and so let these things suffice as to his morality. In the same year pope Gregory, also called Hildebrand, died at Salernum ; and when at the point of death, he called his cardinals to him, and confessed that he had greatly sinned in his pastoral cure, and that, being led on by the devil, he had aroused the anger and hatred of God against the human race ; Clement, in a few days, succeeded him in the Romish church ; and, at his death, Desiderius abbat of Casino succeeded, and was named Victor. King William give* away three bishoprics. A.D. 1087. At Christmas William king of the English held his court at Gloucester, and gave bishoprics to his three chaplains, namely, that of London to Maurice, that of Norwich to William, and that of Chester to Robert. In the same year, Wiscardf duke of Apuleia died, and his two sons Roger and Boamund, succeeded him. In this year too, the Venetians were designing to bring away the body of St. Nicholas from Myra, a town of Lycia, which was ravaged by the Turks, but some citizens of Bar to the number of forty-seven, who were coming from Antioch to Myra, forestalled them, and the latter compelled four monks, who were found at the place, to show them the tomb of the saint, which they broke open, and having taken out the bones of St. Nicholas complete, they embalmed them in oil and brought them with glory to Bar. This removal took place in the seven hundred and forty-fifth year from the death of the same holy pontiff Nicholas. * On the Loire; some say Marehiennes in Flanders, f The celebrated Robert Guiscard.