At a point before the onset of Anarchy in 1139, William made the beneficial acquaintance of Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, who possessed Malmesbury Castle. Such a beneficial local connection, combined with the positive reception of William's "Gesta Regum", led to an offer of the position of abbot of Malmesbury in 1140, which William declined, preferring his duties as a librarian and scholar. His one public appearance was made at the council of Winchester in 1141, in which the clergy declared for the Empress Matilda.