Within a few days of her reception at Winchester, she retraced her steps as far as Wilton, where it was arranged that she should meet the primate, with whom were certain bishops and some lay folk.[205] Theobald, however, professed himself unable to render her homage until he had received from the king his gracious permission to do so.[206] For this purpose he went on to Bristol, while the Empress made her way to Oxford, and there spent Easter (March 30th).[207] We must probably assign to this occasion her admission to Oxford by Robert d'Oilli.[208] The Continuator, indeed, assigns it to May, and in this he is followed by modern historians. Mr. Freeman, for instance, on his authority, places the incident at that stage,[209] and so does Mr. Franck Bright.[210] But the movements of the Empress, at this stage, are really difficult to determine. Between her presence at Oxford (March 30)[211] and her presence at Reading (May 5-7),[212] we know nothing for certain. One would imagine that she must have attended her own election at Winchester (April 7, 8), but the chroniclers are silent on the subject, though they, surely, would have mentioned her presence. On the whole, it seems most probable that the Continuator must be in error, when he places the adhesion of Robert d'Oilli so late as May (at Reading) and takes the Empress subsequently to Oxford, as if for the first time. It was, doubtless, through her "brother" Robert "fitz Edith" that his step-father, Robert d'Oilli, was thus won over to her cause. It should be noted that his defection from the captive king is pointedly mentioned by the author of the _Gesta_, even before that of the Bishop of Winchester, thus further confirming the chronology advanced above.[213] At Oxford she received the submission of all the adjacent country,[214] and also executed an important charter. This charter Mr. Birch has printed, having apparently collated for the purpose no less than five copies.[215] Its special interest is derived from the fact that not only is it the earliest charter she is known to have issued after Stephen's fall (with the probable exception of that to Thurstan de Montfort), but it is also the only one of her charters in which we find the royal phrases "ecclesiarum _regni mei_" and "pertinentibus _coronæ meæ_." Mr. Birch writes of its testing-clause ("Apud Oxeneford Anno ab Incarnatione Domini MC. quatragesimo"): The date of this charter is very interesting, because it is the only example of an actual date calculated by expression of the years of the Incarnation, which occurs among the entire series which I have been able to collect.... Now, as the historical year in these times commenced on the 25th of March, there is no doubt but that this charter was granted to the Abbey of Hulme at some time between the 3rd and the 25th of March, A.D. 1140-41.[216]