Soon after the great and decisive battle of Hastings (S74), WIlliam
the Conqueror advanced on London and set fire to the Southwark
suburbs. The Londoners, terrified by the flames, and later cut off
from help from the north by the Conqueror's besieging army, opened
their gates and surrendered without striking a blow. In return,
William, shortly after his coronation, granted the city a charter, by
which he guaranteed to the inhabitants the liberties which they had
enjoyed under Edward the Confessor (S65).
That document may still be seen among the records in the Guildhall, in
London.[2] It is a narrow strip of parchment not the length of a
man's hand. It contains a few lines in English, to which William's
royal seal was appended. It has indeed been said on high authority
that the King also signed the charter with a cross; but no trace of it
appears on the parchment. The truth seems to be that he who wielded
the sword with such terrible efficiency disdained handling the pen
(S154).
[2] See Constitutional Documents in the Appendix, p. xxxiii.