"William, the King, greets William the Bishop, and Gosfrith the
Port-reeve [or chief officer of the city] and all the burghers [or
citizens] within London, French and English, friendly: and I do you to
wit that I will that ye twain be worthy of all the law that ye were
worthy of in King Edward's day. And I will not endure that any man
offer any wrong to you. God keep you."
Taswell-Langmead's "English Constitutional History," Chapter 1, p.18.
E.A. Freeman, in his "Norman Conquest," IV, 29, says that William
signed this charter with a cross (in addition to his seal, which was
attached to the document), but Dr. R.R. Sharpe, in his "History of
London and the Kingdom," I, 34, note 1, states that "this appears to
be a mistake." Dr. Sharpe is the "Records Clerk" of the City, and he
shows that there is no trace of any cross on the charter, which is now
preserved in Guildhall Library, London.