Geoffrey de Gorham sometimes called Geoffrey of Dunstable or of Le Mans (d. at St Albans

St Albans

St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...

, 26 February 1146), was a Norman

Normans

The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

 scholar who became Abbot of St Albans Abbey, 1119 to 1146.

Life

He was from the province of Maine

Province of Maine

The Province of Maine refers to several English colonies of that name that existed in the 17th century along the northeast coast of North America, at times roughly encompassing portions of the present-day U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, as well as the Canadian provinces of Quebec...

, then annexed to the Dukedom of Normandy. He was invited by Richard d'Aubeney, Abbot of St Albans, to become master of the Abbey school

St Albans School (Hertfordshire)

St Albans School is an independent school in the city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, in the East of England. Entry before Sixth Form is for boys only, and co-educational thereafter. Founded in 948 by Wulsin , St Albans School is not only the oldest school in Hertfordshire but also one of the oldest...

. On his arrival, he found that owing to his long delay another had been appointed, whereupon he opened a school at Dunstable

Dunstable

Dunstable is a market town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles north of London. These geographical features form several steep chalk escarpments most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north.-Etymology:In...

.

He wrote a miracle play to be acted by his scholars, on St. Katherine

Catherine of Alexandria

Saint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and The Great Martyr Saint Catherine is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the pagan emperor Maxentius...

. A chronicle relates how he had borrowed some cope

Cope

The cope is a liturgical vestment, a very long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour....

s from St Albans Abbey

St Albans Cathedral

St Albans Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral church at St Albans, England. At , its nave is the longest of any cathedral in England...

 for the performance, but had the misfortune to lose his house and all its contents by fire on the evening after the performance. To make up to God and the saint for the loss of the copes, he determined to become a monk of St Albans Abbey.

Here he rose to be prior, and finally was elected abbot on the death of Richard, in 1119. He ruled for twenty-six years, and the abbey prospered. He succeeded in saving the Abbey when it was threatened with destruction during the Anarchy

The Anarchy

The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter was a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen, which was characterised by civil war and unsettled government...

 during the reign of King Stephen

Stephen of England

Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...

.

He added to the building an infirmary with chapel attached, and spent large sums on a new shrine to which he translated the body of St Alban

Saint Alban

Saint Alban was the first British Christian martyr. Along with his fellow saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three martyrs remembered from Roman Britain. Alban is listed in the Church of England calendar for 22 June and he continues to be venerated in the Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox...

, 2 August 1129.

Geoffrey endowed the nunnery at Sopwell

Sopwell Priory

Sopwell Priory was built c. 1140 in Hertfordshire, England by the Benedictine abbot of St Albans Abbey, Geoffrey de Gorham...

, and founded another at Markyate

Markyate

Markyate is a village and civil parish in north-west Hertfordshire close to the border with Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire.-Geography:Having a number of former names, including Markyate Street and Mergyate, it has been a part of all three counties since it was first founded as the county...

, in Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

, for his friend and counsellor, Christina of Markyate

Christina of Markyate

Christina of Markyate was born in Huntingdon, England c. 1095–1100, and died perhaps after 1155. As a young girl or adolescent, named Theodora, she took a vow of chastity, so her parents' attempts to force her unwillingly into marriage led her to run away from home and go into hiding under the care...

 the recluse

Recluse

A recluse is a person who lives in voluntary seclusion from the public and society, often close to nature. The word is from the Latin recludere, which means "shut up" or "sequester." There are many potential reasons for becoming a recluse: a personal philosophy that rejects consumer society; a...

. He also opened a leper hospital near St Albans.