On the day of William's death, Henry arrived at Winchester before the body of his brother arrived. Winchester was where the Royal Treasure was kept. He demanded the keys for the Royal Treasure from the guards, but the guards refused to hand them over, saying that Henry's eldest brother, Robert, was the rightful heir. Henry drew his sword and demanded that know-one shall stand between him and his father's sceptre. Resistance soon collapsed and when the peasants arrived with Rufus on a cart, the Lords where already electing Henry as the new King. The first elected King since Harold Godwinson. Henry's brother, Robert, was fighting abroad in the First Crusade. With no time to waste, Henry was crowned King at Westminster Abbey on 5th of August 1100.
Henry's succession was unstable as Robert had a number of Barons supporting him. Henry acted quickly and bought the support of the Barons by granting favours. He abolished abuses of royal power that his brother, William Rufus, engaged in, especially the over-taxation of the barons, the abuse of vacant sees (the official seat of a bishop) and the practices of simony, which is the act of paying for sacraments. Which in consequence paid for holy offices or positions in the hierarchy of a church. Henry made wide ranging concessions in his Charter of Liberties.
THE CHARTER OF LIBERTIES
This charter was important in two ways: firstly, Henry formally bound himself to the laws, setting the stage for the rule of law that parliaments and parliamentarians of later years would cry out for. Secondly, it reads almost exactly like the Magna Carta, and served as the model for the Great Charter in 1215.
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