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The court of England was soon filled with Normans, who, being
distinguished both by the favor of Edward, and by a degree of
cultivation superior to that which was attained by the English in those
ages, soon rendered their language, customs, and laws fashionable in the
kingdom. The study of the French tongue became general among the people.
The courtiers affected to imitate that nation in their dress, equipage,
and entertainments; even the lawyers employed a foreign language
in their deeds and papers;[***] but above all, the church felt the
influence and dominion of those strangers: Ulf and William, two Normans,
who had formerly been the king's chaplains, were created bishops of
Dorchester and London. Robert, a Norman also, was promoted to the see of
Canterbury,[****] and always enjoyed the highest favor of his master,
of which his abilities rendered him not unworthy. And though the king's
prudence, or his want of authority, made him confer almost all the civil
and military employments on the natives, the ecclesiastical preferments
fell often to the share of the Normans; and as the latter possessed
Edward's confidence, they had secretly a great influence on public
affairs, and excited the jealousy of the English, particularly of Earl
Godwin.
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