Note 450 — Chapter II · (continued 3)

Ib. “Æstuans quonam modo suis sacris filium posset restituere, didicit quemadmodum Willielmus rex Anglorum nonnullos hujusmodi, pecuniæ gratis, nuper Judaismo reddiderit.” This way of speaking might almost make us think that the Jew was not living in William’s dominions; yet the whole tenor of the story, which seems to be laid at Rouen, looks otherwise. One phrase is odd; “paternis rogat legibus imperiali sanctione restitui.” William Rufus, as we shall see, did not forget his imperial as well as his royal dignity, but Rouen was an odd place in which to show himself in the imperial character.