and Henry VIII's actions centuries later, and as such should not be seen as a defect of William's reign in particular. Of course, contemporary churchmen were not above engaging in such politics: it is reported that when Archbishop Lanfranc suggested to William I that he imprison the rebellious Bishop Odo of Bayeux, he exclaimed "What! He is a clergyman." Lanfranc retorted "You will not seize the bishop of Bayeux, but confine the earl of Kent." (Odo held both titles.)

While there are complaints of contemporaries