 Urse earned a reputation for extortion and financial exactions . During the reign of William II , he was considered second only to the king 's minister Ranulf Flambard in his rapacity . The first mention of his exactions is in Hemming 's Cartulary . Further details were given by the medieval chroniclers William of Malmesbury and Gerald of Wales , both of whom relate Ealdred 's curse . His exactions were also mentioned in Domesday Book , where an entry in the survey for Gloucestershire noted that his oppression prevented the inhabitants of Sodbury so much that they were unable to pay their customary rents . He intimidated the monks of the Worcester cathedral chapter into granting him a lease of two of their estates , Greenhill and Eastbury . Urse was one of a new breed of royal official , one who was not opposed to royal power but rather welcomed it , as it helped his own position . 
