 Gerard became Archbishop of York in December 1100 . No source mentions him being invested by the king , but as Anselm urged Pope <unk> II to give Gerard his pallium , which he would have been unlikely to do if Gerard had been invested by Henry , that possibility seems remote . At <unk> in 1101 King Henry I , with Anselm 's support , deprived Ranulf <unk> , Bishop of Durham , of the lands of the see of Durham , because Ranulf had defected to Henry 's elder brother Robert <unk> , who also claimed the English throne . Gerard then deposed Ranulf from his bishopric . Soon after his translation to York , Gerard began a long dispute with Anselm , claiming equal primacy with the Archbishop of Canterbury and refusing to make a profession of canonical obedience to Anselm , part of the long Canterbury – York dispute . At the 1102 Council of Westminster , Gerard reportedly kicked over the smaller chair provided for him as Archbishop of York , and refused to be seated until he was provided with one as large as Anselm 's . He travelled to Rome in 1102 to receive his pallium from the pope , to whom he presented the king 's side against Anselm in the controversy surrounding <unk> . The pope decided against the king , but Gerard and two other bishops reported that the pope had assured them that the various papal decrees against the lay investiture of bishops would not be enforced . Their claim was denied by Anselm 's representatives and the pope , who excommunicated Gerard until he recanted . 
