Gilbert Foliot
Encyclopedia
Gilbert Foliot was a medieval English monk and prelate
, successively Abbot of Gloucester
, Bishop of Hereford
and Bishop of London
. Born to an ecclesiastical family, he became a monk at Cluny Abbey
in France at about the age of twenty. After holding two posts as prior
in the Cluniac order he was appointed Abbot
of Gloucester Abbey
in 1139, a promotion influenced by his kinsman Miles of Gloucester
. During his tenure as abbot he acquired additional land for the abbey, and may have helped to fabricate some charter
s—legal deeds attesting property ownership—to gain advantage in a dispute with the Archbishops of York
. Although Foliot recognised Stephen
as the King of England, he may have also sympathised with the Empress Matilda
's claim to the throne. He joined Matilda's supporters after her forces captured Stephen, and continued to write letters in support of Matilda even after the Stephen's release.
Foliot accompanied Theobald of Bec
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
, to a papal council at Reims
in 1148. During his time there he was appointed to the Diocese of Hereford
by Pope Eugene III
. Despite a promise made in Reims not to recognise Stephen, Foliot on his return to England nevertheless swore fealty to the king, causing a temporary rift in his relationship with Henry of Anjou
, Matilda's son, who eventually became King Henry II of England in 1154. When Theobald died in 1160, it was widely assumed that he would be replaced by Foliot, but King Henry nominated his Chancellor
, Thomas Becket
, instead. Foliot later claimed to have opposed this appointment, and supported Henry during the king's dispute with the new archbishop. Foliot was translated
, or moved, to the Diocese of London
in 1163, perhaps as consolation for not receiving Canterbury.
During the great dispute between Becket and the king, Foliot was reviled by Becket and his supporters. He acted as an envoy for the king on a number of diplomatic missions related to this dispute and wrote a number of letters against Becket which were circulated widely in Europe. Becket excommunicated Foliot on two occasions, the second of which precipitated the archbishop's martyrdom. For a short period following Becket's death the papacy kept Foliot excommunicate, but he was quickly absolved and allowed to resume his episcopal functions
. In addition to his role in the Becket controversy, Foliot often served as a royal judge, and was an active administrator and bishop in his different dioceses. He was a prolific letter writer, and some of his correspondence was collected after his death. He also wrote sermons and biblical commentaries, two of which are extant.
Foliot was probably the son of Robert Foliot—steward to David
, Earl of Huntingdon
and heir to the Scottish throne—and Robert's wife Agnes, sister of Robert de Chesney
, Bishop of Lincoln
. Whatever his parentage, Gilbert was certainly Robert de Chesney's nephew; another of his uncles, Reginald, was a monk of Gloucester Abbey and Abbot of Evesham Abbey
. Other ecclesiastics in his family included Robert Foliot
, a later Bishop of Hereford perhaps from an Oxford branch of the family, and two earlier Bishops of London, Richard de Beaumis the elder
and Richard de Beaumis the younger
, Gilbert also referred to Richard of Ilchester
, later Bishop of Winchester
, as a kinsman, but the exact relationship is unknown. William de Chesney
, a partisan of Stephen's and a leading Oxfordshire layman, was another of Foliot's uncles, and Miles of Gloucester, Earl of Hereford
, was a cousin. In about 1145 Foliot intervened to secure the release of a knight to whom he was related, Roger Foliot, but their precise relationship is unknown.
Born in about 1110, Foliot became a monk of Cluny, probably in about 1130. He became Prior of Cluny Abbey, then Prior of Abbeville
, a Cluniac house. There are some indications that he studied law at Bologna
, and he may have studied under Robert Pullen
, the English theologian, either at Oxford
or Exeter
. He also acquired a knowledge of rhetoric
as well as the liberal arts
. The names of two of his early teachers are known, but nothing else of them. Foliot also learned biblical exegesis, probably from Pullen.
Foliot attended the Second Lateran Council
, called by Pope Innocent II
. It opened on 4 April 1139, and among other matters heard an appeal from the Empress Matilda concerning her claim to the throne of England. Matilda was the daughter and only surviving legitimate child of King Henry I
, but following her father's death in late 1135 her cousin Stephen, the son of Henry's sister, had seized the crown. By 1139 Matilda had gathered supporters and was contesting Stephen's right to the throne.
In about 1143 Foliot wrote an account of the proceedings of the council in a letter to one of Matilda's supporters. No action was taken on her claim, and no conclusion was reached as to its validity. The papacy continued to accept Stephen as king, and the pope ordered the English Church to make no changes to the status quo. According to Foliot's letter the council's deliberations centred on the legitimacy of the marriage between Matilda's parents. Matilda's mother, Edith-Matilda, had been educated at a convent, and there was some uncertainty over whether she had taken vows before her marriage to Henry I. At the time of the council, the question caused some concern, although in time most were persuaded that the marriage was valid because Anselm of Canterbury
had performed the ceremony. Foliot seems to have had some doubts in 1139, but before writing his letter of 1143 he had come to believe that Matilda was indeed the legitimate heiress, and he supported the Angevin
cause, as Matilda's claim was known.
In 1139 Foliot was elected Abbot of Gloucester, blessed by the diocesan bishop on 11 June 1139. The appointment had been pushed through by Foliot's relative, Miles of Gloucester, who was by then the Earl of Hereford. Foliot was well connected at court in other respects, for his probable father had been steward to David I
, before David became King of Scotland. David was the uncle of both the Empress and Stephen's wife. Following his elevation to abbot Foliot recognised Stephen as king, although he seems until then to have supported Matilda.
King Stephen was captured by Matilda's forces on 2 February 1141, and Matilda called a council at Westminster
to gather support for her assuming the throne. Foliot attended the council and was one of her main supporters in the following months as the Angevin cause tried to place her on the throne.
It was during his time as abbot that Foliot wrote his reply to Brien FitzCount
, one of Matilda's earliest supporters, discussing the Second Council of the Lateran's deliberations on Matilda's cause. FitzCount, in a letter now lost, had presented his reasons for supporting Matilda, and Foliot's reply set forth a defence of Matilda's claim to the throne. Foliot also wrote that Stephen had "dishonoured the episcopate" with his behaviour in 1139, when the king arrested Roger of Salisbury
, the Bishop of Salisbury
, and Roger's nephew, Alexander
, who was Bishop of Lincoln, as well as attempting to arrest another of Roger's nephews, Nigel, Bishop of Ely
. After the arrest Stephen forced the bishops to surrender their castles and secular government offices. Most historians see Foliot's letter as firmly supporting Matilda's cause, although one of King Stephen's recent biographers, Donald Matthew, claims that Foliot's support was lukewarm at best, motivated by the location of his abbey in one of Matilda's strongholds. Matthew points out that Gloucester Abbey owed no military service in a feudal levy
, which allowed Foliot to avoid choosing sides irrevocably. Matthew also points out that after 1141 Foliot is a signatory to just one of Matilda's charters. Foliot did though address Robert of Gloucester
's defence of Matilda's rights, buttressing it with arguments of his own. Robert had argued that the Bible supported female succession, and quoted from Numbers, chapter 36, which allowed women to inherit, but prohibited them marrying outside their tribe. In his reply Foliot claimed that Robert had actually used Numbers, chapter 27, which had no restrictions on the marriage of heiresses.
During his time as abbot Foliot became friendly with Ailred of Rievaulx
, a writer and later saint, who dedicated a book of sermons to him. Another friend and ally from his abbacy was Theobald of Bec, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who during Stephen's reign was attempting to unite the English Church under his leadership. Foliot helped Theobald by forming a communication link to Matilda's side.
Foliot took an interest in the Dorset monastery of Cerne Abbey
, which in 1145 received the Prior of Gloucester Abbey, Bernard, as abbot. Bernard was an active reformer, and Foliot supported Bernard's efforts, but the monks objected to the new abbot, and drove him out of the monastery. Both abbot and monks appealed to the papacy, which supported the abbot. Although Matilda wrote to Foliot, and interceded on behalf of the monks, Foliot pointed out that he was unable to disobey a papal command.
While abbot, Foliot supervised the acquisition of a dependent priory
in the city of Hereford
for the monastery. Most of the abbey buildings predate Foliot's time as abbot, and there is no sure evidence of any buildings he added to the monastery. During his abbacy, a dispute that had dragged on between Gloucester and the Archdiocese of York over some manors was finally settled in Gloucester's favour. This was done with a group of forged charters that Foliot may have helped to create. Forging charters was a common practice in English monasteries of the time. Foliot also had disputes with the Welsh bishop Uhtred, Bishop of Llandaff, over Goldcliff Priory
and a church in Llancarfan
, concerning tithes and new chapels that had been built without Gloucester Abbey's permission.
In early 1148, Foliot accompanied Theobald of Bec to the Council of Reims, even though the archbishop had been forbidden to attend by King Stephen; Foliot was presumably with Theobald when the archbishop used a small fishing boat in his escape from England to the continent. Robert de Bethune
, the Bishop of Hereford, died at the Council of Reims, and Foliot was nominated by Pope Eugene III to fill the Diocese of Hereford
, which was held by the Angevin cause. Theobald was behind the appointment, having urged it on the pope. It appears likely that before his consecration Foliot gave assurances that he would not swear fealty to Stephen. He was consecrated Bishop of Hereford on 5 September 1148 at Saint-Omer
by Archbishop Theobald. The other English bishops present at Reims—Hilary of Chichester
and Josceline de Bohon
—refused to help with the consecration, claiming it was contrary to custom for an English bishop to be consecrated outside of England. Another of the bishops' concerns was that the pope had infringed Stephen's right to a say in the election. After his consecration Foliot swore fealty to Henry of Anjou
, the son of the Empress and the new head of the Angevin party.
Foliot switched his allegiance on his return to England and swore fealty to Stephen, angering the Angevins. Theobald managed to secure peace between the parties, saying that Foliot could not refuse to swear homage "to the prince approved by the papacy". Foliot also attempted to hold Hereford in plurality, or at the same time, with the abbey of Gloucester, but the monks of Gloucester objected. Rather than accept a situation like that of Henry of Blois
, who held the Diocese of Winchester
as well as being Abbot of Glastonbury, the monks of Gloucester held an election three weeks after Foliot's selection as bishop, and chose their prior as the new abbot.
Foliot supported his uncle Robert de Chesney's nomination to become Bishop of Lincoln, lobbying the pope on Robert's behalf, and maintaining a long correspondence with Robert after his elevation. The letters to this uncle are full of warm sentiments, more than would be expected of a dutiful correspondence. Other episcopal correspondents and friends included Roger de Pont L'Evêque
, the Archbishop of York, Josceline de Bohon, the Bishop of Salisbury, and William de Turbeville
, the Bishop of Norwich
, who became a regular correspondent after Foliot was translated to London.
During the later part of Stephen's reign Foliot was active in judicial affairs, including a case in 1150 involving sanctuary
and his kinsman Roger
, the Earl of Hereford, which ended up in the court of Archbishop Theobald. Foliot's participation in legal affairs led him in 1153 to employ a clerk specialising in Roman law
.
After Henry of Anjou's accession to the throne of England as Henry II
in 1154, Foliot persuaded the Earl of Hereford to submit to the new king's demand that he return the custody of certain royal castles to the king. In the summer of 1160, Foliot wrote to Pope Alexander III
, whom the king had just recognised as pope instead of Alexander's rival, Victor IV, intimating that the canonisation of King Edward the Confessor
, which had been delayed by Alexander's predecessor Innocent II, might be warranted as a reward for Henry's recognition of Alexander.
The art historian Hans J. Böker claims that Foliot began the construction of the Bishop's Chapel at Hereford Cathedral
. Böker contends that the architectural style of the chapel (which was destroyed in 1737) resembled that of the German imperial chapels, and was deliberately chosen by Foliot to demonstrate his loyalty to King Henry. However most sources credit Robert of Hereford
, bishop from 1079 to 1095, as the builder of the chapel.
When Theobald died in 1160, most observers believed that Foliot was the leading candidate to become archbishop of Canterbury. Traditionally, the see of Canterbury had been held by a monk, at least since the replacement of Stigand
by Lanfranc
in 1070. Although Foliot was a Cluniac monk, they were a subset of the Benedictine Order
and thus the cathedral chapter
at Canterbury, which was Benedictine but not Cluniac, would have had no objections to him on that score. Foliot denied that he ever lobbied for the office, but John of Salisbury
and Thomas Becket apparently believed that Foliot desired it.
Foliot was Becket's rival for the Archbishopric of Canterbury. He objected to the king's choice on the grounds that Becket was too worldly, the only bishop or magnate known to have opposed the king's choice. When the newly elected archbishop was presented to the court before his consecration, Foliot remarked that the king had performed a miracle by turning a layman and a knight into an archbishop. Soon after Becket's consecration the king wrote to the pope asking for permission to make Foliot the royal confessor. This may have been a conciliatory move to appease Foliot after the loss of Canterbury, or it may have been that the king and the new archbishop were already having differences of opinion and the king wished Foliot to be a counter-weight to Becket's influence.
After Becket's election as archbishop, Foliot was nominated to the Diocese of London, to which he was translated on 6 March 1163. His nomination had been put forward by the king, who wrote to the pope stating that Foliot would be more accessible as an adviser and confessor if he was in London, rather than in Hereford on the Welsh Marches
. Becket wrote to Foliot urging him to accept the translation. His transfer was confirmed by Pope Alexander III on 19 March 1163 and Foliot was enthroned at London on 28 April 1163. Papal confirmation was required because the movement of bishops from one see to another was still frowned on at this time. The medieval chronicler Ralph de Diceto
, who was a canon
at London, states that the cathedral chapter at St Paul's Cathedral
, London, the cathedral of the London diocese, approved of Foliot's selection. Becket was unable to attend Foliot's enthronement, and Foliot did not make a profession of obedience to the archbishop, arguing that he had already sworn an oath to Canterbury when he became Bishop of Hereford, and thus no further oath was required. The issue was sent to the papacy, but the pope refused to be pinned down to an answer. Foliot then attempted to make London independent of Canterbury by reviving Pope Gregory I
's old plan for an archbishopric at London. Foliot proposed either to have London raised to an archdiocese along with Canterbury, or to have London replace Canterbury as the archiepiscopal seat for the southern province. Foliot did though support Becket in the latter's attempt to prevent the Archbishop of York having his archiepiscopal cross borne in procession before him when visiting the province of Canterbury.
By 1166, Foliot had been presented with a petition for annulment of the marriage of Aubrey de Vere, the Earl of Oxford
, and Agnes of Essex
. On the couple's third appearance before the bishop in his episcopal court on 9 May 1166, Countess Agnes appealed to the pope to affirm the validity of her marriage. Foliot enclosed her appeal in his own surviving letter setting out the salient features of the case. While the case was under papal consideration, Foliot reprimanded the earl for his treatment of his wife, reminding him that until the pope had ruled otherwise, Agnes was to be considered his wife in bed and board. When Pope Alexander III wrote to the bishop concerning the countess's maltreatment, and requiring Foliot to threaten the earl with excommunication, he also chastised the bishop for his handling of the case.
The king and Becket began quarrelling in July 1163, at first over financial matters and then over the marriage of Henry's younger brother to an heiress, which Becket forbade. The true spark to the quarrel was the matter of clergy who committed crimes, who the king wished to have prosecuted in secular courts; the archbishop refused, arguing that all clergy must be tried in church courts, even if the crime was non-ecclesiastical. At the Council of Westminster called by Henry in October 1163 to deal with the issue, Foliot at first sided with the other bishops, who supported Becket's position and opposed the king. However, after the council was dismissed, Foliot became the leader of those bishops who changed sides in support of the king. In December, Becket capitulated to the king.
In January 1164 the king summoned a council at Clarendon
. The bishops were asked to approve the Constitutions of Clarendon
, which proposed restrictions on the powers of the Church and limits to papal authority in England; Becket's refusal led to the great dispute between king and archbishop, into which Foliot and his fellow bishops were inevitably drawn. When Becket appeared before the court with his archiepiscopal cross borne before him, a studied insult to the king, Foliot told the archbishop that "If the king were to brandish his sword, as you now brandish yours, what hope can there be of peace between you?" The king refused to see Becket, and negotiations between the two camps soon revealed that Becket had ordered the bishops to refuse to pass judgement on him and threatened them with suspension from ecclesiastical office if they did. Becket also threatened to appeal the case to the papacy. Both of these actions by the archbishop breached the Constitutions of Clarendon. During the subsequent back and forth between the bishops and the king, as well as the bishops and the archbishop, Foliot was asked by one of his fellow bishops to try and persuade Becket to modify his behaviour. Foliot replied that Becket "was always a fool and always will be".
After the bishops refused to pass judgment, the barons attempted to do so, but Becket refused to hear the court and left the council without the king's permission. Soon afterward, Foliot, along with Hilary of Chichester, went to Becket and suggested a compromise, which Becket refused. Becket went into exile after this last attempt at a settlement, and arrived in Flanders
on 2 November 1164. Foliot was sent, along with Roger, the Archbishop of York, Hilary of Chichester, Bartholomew Iscanus
, the Bishop of Exeter
, Roger of Worcester
, the Bishop of Worcester
, William d'Aubigny
, the Earl of Arundel
, and a group of royal clerks, to Thierry
the Count of Flanders
, Louis VII
the King of France, and Pope Alexander III. Their mission was to prevent the archbishop from being given refuge, but despite their efforts Louis of France agreed to grant Becket refuge. Foliot's delegation met with more success at the papal court
; although they did not succeed in securing a decision in the king's favour, neither did the pope side with the archbishop.
During Becket's exile Foliot collected and sent to Rome Peter's Pence
, the annual payment from England to the papacy. Foliot observed during the conflict that it was not a theological or moral dispute, merely one over church government. During Becket's exile, the king confiscated the archbishop's estates, and also confiscated the benefice
s of the clerks who had followed Becket into exile. Foliot was made custodian of those benefices in the diocese of Canterbury
. Becket blamed both Foliot and Roger of York for the confiscations, but evidence appears to show that the confiscations were Henry's decision, and that Foliot, at least, was a conscientious custodian who made sure that little profit went to the king, and most of the revenues from the benefices went to religious purposes.
In early summer 1165, Pope Alexander III wrote twice to Foliot, ordering him to intercede with the king and protest the royal injunction against appeals to the papacy. Foliot replied that the king respected the pope, heard his protests carefully, and that the archbishop had not been expelled, but had left of his own accord. Foliot wrote that the king had said Becket was free to return at any time, but would still have to answer to the charges he had faced at Northampton. Foliot then advised the pope not to impose any sentences of excommunication and to be patient and continue to negotiate. In 1166, Foliot accused Becket of simony
, or the purchase of church offices, basing this on the alleged purchase Becket had made of the chancellorship, although there is no evidence that Becket bought the office. By 1166, the king had made Foliot the head of the English Church, in fact if not in law. The king and Foliot got along well, and it was probably Foliot's influence that kept the king from more violent measures against Becket.
On 10 June 1166, Becket excommunicated a number of his opponents, some specifically by name, as well as any who opposed his cause. Henry's response was to order the English bishops to appeal to the pope, which they did at a council that Foliot organised and led in London on 24 June. The appeal was written by Foliot, and a separate letter from the bishops, also written by Foliot, was sent to the archbishop. The bishops rested their case on the fact that those excommunicated had not been warned or allowed to defend themselves. They pointed out to the pope that the king had not escalated the conflict and had behaved reasonably to the last papal overtures in the summer of 1165. Becket replied to these moves with a letter written to Foliot that was full of resentment and reproaches. Foliot's reply, in a letter that is usually titled Multiplicem nobis, set forth his view of Becket's abilities as archbishop as well as giving reasons why Becket was wrong. He then suggested that the archbishop compromise and exercise some humility in order to reach his goals. By the end of 1166, Foliot managed to resign his custody of the confiscated Canterbury benefices, something he had been attempting to do for some time, thus removing one source of conflict between him and Becket.
In November 1167 Foliot was summoned to Normandy
, then ruled by Henry II, to meet with papal legate
s and the king. Roger of York, Hilary of Chichester, and Roger of Worcester were also summoned to attend. After some discussion and argument, Henry appears to have agreed that the legates could judge both the king's case against Becket as well as the bishops' case. Henry also offered a compromise on the subject of the Constitutions of Clarendon, that the legates accepted. However, when the legates met with Becket on 18 November, it quickly became apparent that Becket would not accept negotiations with the king nor accept the legates as judges of either case against him. As the legates had no mandate to compel Becket to accept them as judges, the negotiations came to an end with the king and bishops still appealing to the papacy.
On 13 April 1169, Becket excommunicated Foliot, along with Hugh, Earl of Norfolk
, Josceline de Bohun, and seven royal officials. Becket did this even though none of them had been warned, and despite the fact that the pope had asked that Becket not make any such sentences until after a pending embassy to King Henry had ended. Becket also warned a number of others that unless they made amends to him, they too would be excommunicated on 29 May, Ascension Day. In his excommunication, Becket called Foliot "that wolf in sheep's clothing". Although Foliot tried to enlist the help of his fellow bishops in an appeal, they were less than helpful. Foliot then prepared to appeal his sentence to the pope in person, and travelled to Normandy in late June or early July, where he met the king, but proceeded no further towards Rome, as the papacy was attempting once more to secure a negotiated settlement. In late August and early September serious but ultimately fruitless negotiations took place between the king and the archbishop.
Foliot then proceeded to Rome, but at Milan he received word that his envoy at the papal court had secured the right for him to be absolved by the Archbishop of Rouen, Rotrou. Foliot then returned to Rouen
, where he was absolved on 5 April and reinstated in his see on 1 May. The only requirement of this absolution was that Foliot accept a penance to be imposed by the pope. Much of Foliot's objections to Becket's excommunication stemmed from the lack of warning that Foliot and the others had received, contrary to the customary and normal procedures. Becket and his supporters pointed out that there were some situations in which it was possible to excommunicate without warning, but Foliot claimed that the present situation was not one of them. According to Foliot, Becket's habit was "to condemn first, judge second". Foliot's example of appealing excommunications to the papacy was an important step in the setting up of an appeal process for excommunication during the 12th century.
On 14 June 1170, Henry's son, Henry the Young King
, was crowned King of England by the Archbishop of York, which infringed on the right of Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury to crown English monarchs. Although there is no definitive evidence that Foliot assisted in the coronation it appears likely that he did so. The coronation drove the pope to allow Becket to lay an interdict
, or decree prohibiting church rites, on England as punishment, and the threat of an interdict forced Henry to negotiate with Becket in July 1170. Becket and the king came to terms on 22 July 1170, allowing the archbishop to return to England, which he did in early December. However, shortly before he landed in England, he excommunicated Roger of York, Josceline of Salisbury, and Foliot. One possible reason for the excommunications was that the three ecclesiastics had electors from the various vacant bishoprics with them, and were escorting those electors to the king on the continent in order to reward a number of royal clerks with the long vacant bishoprics. Included among those royal clerks were some of Becket's most bitter foes during his exile. Although Becket offered to absolve Josceline and Foliot, he argued that only the pope could absolve Roger, as he was an archbishop. Roger persuaded the other two to appeal to the king, then in Normandy. When they did so, the royal anger at the timing of the excommunications was such that it led to Henry uttering the question often attributed to him "Will no one rid me of the turbulent priest". This inspired four knights to set off from the king's court in Normandy to Canterbury, where on 29 December 1170, they murdered Becket.
After Becket's death his sentences of excommunication were confirmed, as well as the suspensions from ecclesiastical office. The pope in his confirmation referred to Roger of York, Foliot, and Josceline of Salisbury, as the "Gilbertine trinity". The excommunication was absolved for Foliot on 1 August 1171, but he remained suspended from office. He secured his restoration to office on 1 May 1172, after clearing himself of any involvement in Becket's murder. The king performed a public act of penance on 12 July 1174 at Canterbury, when he publicly confessed his sins, and then allowed each bishop present, including Foliot, to give him five blows from a rod, then each of the 80 monks of Canterbury Cathedral
gave the king three blows. The king then offered gifts to Becket's shrine and spent a vigil at Becket's tomb.
Foliot and Becket seem to have been on amicable terms until 1163, but their relationship seems to have soured after that date. Becket accused Foliot in 1167 with: "your aim has all along been to effect the downfall of the Church and ourself". After the pope absolved Foliot's excommunication in early 1170, Becket exclaimed to a cardinal that "Satan is unloosed for the destruction of the Church". A modern biographer of Becket, the historian Frank Barlow
, feels that one reason for Becket's change in behaviour after his election as archbishop was due to his need to "out-bishop" the other bishops, and prevent Foliot from making any more jibes about his inadequacies as an ecclesiastic.
Foliot was mainly a force for moderation in the quarrel between the king and the archbishop, urging restraint on Becket and curbing the king's attempts to impose the Constitutions more rigorously. Foliot's rhetoric against the archbishop was pointed and effective. Foliot also developed the novel legal filing of ad cautelam, which was an appeal to the papacy against any future action by the archbishop. Although Foliot's tactic of ad cautelam was ridiculed by his opponents, the papacy did not challenge the technique.
During his time as bishop Foliot served for many years as a papal judge-delegate
, especially in his later years. He was active in both of his dioceses in supporting his cathedral chapters and other religious houses of the dioceses. He kept in constant contact with his archdeacon
s and dean
s about the administration of the dioceses.
, is supposed to have originated in Foliot's own writing office. About 250 to 300 examples of Foliot's letters have survived, which together with his surviving charters gives a total of almost 500 items. The collection was printed in a modern edition edited by Adrian Morey and Christopher N. L. Brooke
and published by the Cambridge University Press
in 1967, under the title of The Letters and Charters of Gilbert Foliot. Some of the letters have appeared in volumes five through eight of Materials for the History of Thomas Becket, from the Rolls Series
, published from 1875–1885. Older editions appeared in the Patres ecclesiae Anglicanae series from the 1840s, and in Migne's Patrologica from 1854. The letters cover most of the period of Foliot's public life, and are one of the main sources for the history of that period. The historian David Knowles said of the collection that "owing to its wealth of personal and local detail [it] is of the greatest value for the church historian". According to Knowles, Foliot's letters paint a picture of an active bishop and ecclesiastical leader who supported the Gregorian church reforms
but did not meddle in politics beyond those of the church. His letters are typical of the educated letter writer of his time, refined and polished to an art form.
Foliot also wrote a number of sermons and commentaries on the Bible. Of the commentaries, only those on the Song of Songs
and the Lord's Prayer
still survive. The commentary on the Song of Songs was first printed in 1638, by Patrick Young
, and again in the Patrologia Latina
volume 202. The commentary on the Lord's Prayer was first published by David Bell in 1989. The commentary on the Song of Songs has been printed three times, the last in the middle of the 20th century. About 60 of his acta, or decisions, as Bishop of Hereford still survive, and from his time at London a further 150 or so are extant. A contemporary, Peter, the prior of Holy Trinity Priory in Aldgate
, London, heard Foliot preach a sermon at a synod, and praised the sermon as "adorned with flowers of words and sentences and supported by a copious array of authorities. It ran backwards and forwards on its path from its starting-point back to the same starting point." The sermon so inspired Peter that he wrote a work entitled Pantheologus, which dealt with the distinctio method of exegesis
, which was developing around this time. All of Foliot's surviving theological works are based on exegesis, and may include nine sermons on the subject of Saints Peter
and Paul, which were dedicated to Ailred of Rivaulx. These sermons are dedicated to a "Gilbert, Bishop of London", which could mean either Foliot or an earlier bishop, Gilbert Universalis
. However, the historian Richard Sharpe
feels that the fact that the sermons are paired with a group of Ailred's sermons dedicated to Foliot makes their authorship by Foliot slightly more likely. These sermons survive in manuscript, now in the British Library as Royal 2 D.xxxii, but have not yet been printed. A further group of sermons which were dedicated to Haimo, the abbot of Bordesley
, did not survive, but is known from the surviving dedication letter.
The antiquarian John Bale
in the 1550s listed six works of Foliot known to him, five of which were letters. The sixth work known to Bale was the commentary on the Song of Songs, which survived in a single manuscript, now in the Bodleian Library. Young also recorded a Lundinensis Ecclesiae as being by Foliot. The scholar John Pits gave much the same list in 1619, adding one work, a Vitas aliquot sanctorum Angliae, Librum unun, but this work never appears in a medieval book catalogue and has not survived under this name so it is unclear if Foliot wrote such a work. The antiquary Thomas Tanner
, writing in the early 18th century, listed Foliot as the author of the seven works given by Bale and Pits, adding an eighth, the Tractatus Gilberti, episcopi London: Super Istud "Sunt diuae olivae", citing John Leland, the 16th-century antiquary, as his source. This apparently is the collection of nine sermons on Saints Peter and Paul that has yet to be published and is still in manuscript at the Bodleian Library. Leland also listed another work by Foliot, the Omeliae Gileberti, episcopi Herefordensis, which he stated was held at Forde Abbey
. This work, since lost, might have been the sermons mentioned above, or could have been a known collection of homilies, also lost. It is also possible that another Gilbert was the author. Lastly, Walter Map recorded that Foliot had begun work on a "the Old and the New Law" shortly before his death.
praised him as "a man most accomplished in the three languages, Latin, French and English, and eloquent and clear in each of them". The modern historian Frank Barlow says of him that "It was probably because he was so self-righteous that it could be suggested that his behaviour was sometimes devious." He went blind some time during the 1180s, but continued to work on his biblical writings.
Foliot sent his nephew, Richard Foliot, and another clerk of his household to Bologna to study law in the 1160s, exemplifying the growing emphasis laid on Roman law among his countrymen. Another nephew was Ralph Foliot
, Archdeacon of Hereford and a royal justice during the reign of Richard I. During his time at both dioceses he did much to promote his relatives, and all of the archdeacons he appointed while at London were either nephews or other relatives. A member of his household at Hereford was the scholar Roger of Hereford
, who dedicated his computus
, or treatise on calculating dates, to Foliot. Another work, the Ysagoge in Theologiam, was dedicated to him by a writer named Odo while Foliot was still a prior in France.
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
, successively Abbot of Gloucester
Abbot of Gloucester
Abbot of Gloucester was the title of the head of Gloucester Abbey in Gloucester, England. The following table lists some of the abbots, and is taken from Heads of Religious Houses: England and Wales 940 to 1216....
, Bishop of Hereford
Bishop of Hereford
The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.The see is in the City of Hereford where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Ethelbert which was founded as a cathedral in 676.The Bishop's residence is...
and Bishop of London
Bishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
. Born to an ecclesiastical family, he became a monk at Cluny Abbey
Cluny Abbey
Cluny Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was built in the Romanesque style, with three churches built in succession from the 10th to the early 12th centuries....
in France at about the age of twenty. After holding two posts as prior
Prior
Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
in the Cluniac order he was appointed Abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
of Gloucester Abbey
Gloucester Abbey
Gloucester Abbey was a Benedictine abbey for monks in the city of Gloucester, England. The abbey was founded about 1022 and was dedicated to Saint Peter. It is recorded that the abbey lost about a quarter of its complement of monks in 1377 due to the Black Death.In 1540, the abbey was dissolved by...
in 1139, a promotion influenced by his kinsman Miles of Gloucester
Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford
Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Brecknock was the son of Walter de Gloucester, who served as hereditary sheriff of that county between 1104 and 1121....
. During his tenure as abbot he acquired additional land for the abbey, and may have helped to fabricate some charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
s—legal deeds attesting property ownership—to gain advantage in a dispute with the Archbishops of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
. Although Foliot recognised 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...
as the King of England, he may have also sympathised with the Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda , also known as Matilda of England or Maude, was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry to survive to adulthood...
's claim to the throne. He joined Matilda's supporters after her forces captured Stephen, and continued to write letters in support of Matilda even after the Stephen's release.
Foliot accompanied Theobald of Bec
Theobald of Bec
Theobald was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1139 to 1161. He was a Norman; his exact birth date is unknown. Some time in the late 11th or early 12th century Theobald became a monk at the Abbey of Bec, rising to the position of abbot in 1137. King Stephen of England chose him to be Archbishop of...
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, to a papal council at Reims
Reims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
in 1148. During his time there he was appointed to the Diocese of Hereford
Diocese of Hereford
The Diocese of Hereford is a Church of England diocese based in Hereford, covering Herefordshire, southern Shropshire and a few parishes within Worcestershire in England; and a few parishes within Powys and Monmouthshire in Wales....
by Pope Eugene III
Pope Eugene III
Pope Blessed Eugene III , born Bernardo da Pisa, was Pope from 1145 to 1153. He was the first Cistercian to become Pope.-Early life:...
. Despite a promise made in Reims not to recognise Stephen, Foliot on his return to England nevertheless swore fealty to the king, causing a temporary rift in his relationship with Henry of Anjou
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
, Matilda's son, who eventually became King Henry II of England in 1154. When Theobald died in 1160, it was widely assumed that he would be replaced by Foliot, but King Henry nominated his Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
, Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
, instead. Foliot later claimed to have opposed this appointment, and supported Henry during the king's dispute with the new archbishop. Foliot was translated
Translation (ecclesiastical)
Translation is the technical term when a Bishop is transferred from one diocese to another.This can be* From Suffragan Bishop status to Diocesan Bishop*From Coadjutor bishop to Diocesan Bishop*From one country's Episcopate to another...
, or moved, to the Diocese of London
Diocese of London
The Anglican Diocese of London forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England.Historically the diocese covered a large area north of the Thames and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the north and west. The present diocese covers and 17 London boroughs, covering most of Greater...
in 1163, perhaps as consolation for not receiving Canterbury.
During the great dispute between Becket and the king, Foliot was reviled by Becket and his supporters. He acted as an envoy for the king on a number of diplomatic missions related to this dispute and wrote a number of letters against Becket which were circulated widely in Europe. Becket excommunicated Foliot on two occasions, the second of which precipitated the archbishop's martyrdom. For a short period following Becket's death the papacy kept Foliot excommunicate, but he was quickly absolved and allowed to resume his episcopal functions
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
. In addition to his role in the Becket controversy, Foliot often served as a royal judge, and was an active administrator and bishop in his different dioceses. He was a prolific letter writer, and some of his correspondence was collected after his death. He also wrote sermons and biblical commentaries, two of which are extant.
Early life
David I of Scotland
David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...
, Earl of Huntingdon
Earl of Huntingdon
Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The title is associated with the ruling house of Scotland, and latterly with the Hastings family.-Early history:...
and heir to the Scottish throne—and Robert's wife Agnes, sister of Robert de Chesney
Robert de Chesney
Robert de Chesney was a medieval English Bishop of Lincoln. He was the brother of an important royal official, William de Chesney, and the uncle of Gilbert Foliot, later successively Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London...
, Bishop of Lincoln
Bishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral...
. Whatever his parentage, Gilbert was certainly Robert de Chesney's nephew; another of his uncles, Reginald, was a monk of Gloucester Abbey and Abbot of Evesham Abbey
Evesham Abbey
Evesham Abbey was founded by Saint Egwin at Evesham in England between 700 and 710 A.D. following a vision of the Virgin Mary by Eof.According to the monastic history, Evesham came through the Norman Conquest unusually well, because of a quick approach by Abbot Æthelwig to William the Conqueror...
. Other ecclesiastics in his family included Robert Foliot
Robert Foliot
Robert Foliot was a medieval Bishop of Hereford in England. He was a relative of a number of English ecclesiastics, including Gilbert Foliot, one of his predecessors at Hereford. After serving Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln as a clerk, he became a clerk of Henry of Blois, the Bishop of Winchester...
, a later Bishop of Hereford perhaps from an Oxford branch of the family, and two earlier Bishops of London, Richard de Beaumis the elder
Richard de Beaumis
Richard de Beaumis was a medieval Bishop of London.-Life:Beaumis' family came from Beaumais-sur-Dive in the Calvados region of Normandy. He was elected to the see of London on 24 May 1108. His ordination as a priest took place on 14 June 1108, a little over a month before he was consecrated as a...
and Richard de Beaumis the younger
Richard de Beaumis II
Richard de Beaumis was a medieval Bishop of London.-Life:Beaumis' father was Robert de Beaumis. The family came from Beaumais-sur-Dive in the Calvados region of Normandy. He was a nephew of Richard de Beaumis, Bishop of London from 1108 to 1127, as well as the brother of Richard Ruffus, who was...
, Gilbert also referred to Richard of Ilchester
Richard of Ilchester
Richard of Ilchester , also called Richard of Toclyve or Richard of Toclive, was a medieval English statesman and prelate-Life:He was born in the diocese of Bath, where he obtained preferment...
, later Bishop of Winchester
Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...
, as a kinsman, but the exact relationship is unknown. William de Chesney
William de Chesney
William de Chesney was an Anglo-Norman magnate during the reign of King Stephen of England and King Henry II of England . Chesney was part of a large family; one of his brothers became Bishop of Lincoln and another Abbot of Evesham Abbey. Stephen may have named him Sheriff of Oxfordshire...
, a partisan of Stephen's and a leading Oxfordshire layman, was another of Foliot's uncles, and Miles of Gloucester, Earl of Hereford
Earl of Hereford
The title of Earl of Hereford was created six times in the Peerage of England. See also Duke of Hereford, Viscount Hereford. Dates indicate the years the person held the title for.-Earls of Hereford, First Creation :*Swegen Godwinson...
, was a cousin. In about 1145 Foliot intervened to secure the release of a knight to whom he was related, Roger Foliot, but their precise relationship is unknown.
Born in about 1110, Foliot became a monk of Cluny, probably in about 1130. He became Prior of Cluny Abbey, then Prior of Abbeville
Abbeville
Abbeville is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Location:Abbeville is located on the Somme River, from its modern mouth in the English Channel, and northwest of Amiens...
, a Cluniac house. There are some indications that he studied law at Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, and he may have studied under Robert Pullen
Robert Pullen
Robert Pullen was an English theologian and official of the Roman Catholic Church.-Biography:Nothing is known of his early life except that he was of English parentage. The conjecture of an early-20th-century biographer that he was born at Poole, Dorsetshire is not supported by any evidence....
, the English theologian, either at Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
or Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
. He also acquired a knowledge of rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
as well as the liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
. The names of two of his early teachers are known, but nothing else of them. Foliot also learned biblical exegesis, probably from Pullen.
Foliot attended the Second Lateran Council
Second Council of the Lateran
The Second Council of the Lateran is believed to have been the Tenth Ecumenical Council by Roman Catholics. It was held by Pope Innocent II in April 1139, and was attended by close to a thousand clerics...
, called by Pope Innocent II
Pope Innocent II
Pope Innocent II , born Gregorio Papareschi, was pope from 1130 to 1143, and was probably one of the clergy in personal attendance on the antipope Clement III .-Early years:...
. It opened on 4 April 1139, and among other matters heard an appeal from the Empress Matilda concerning her claim to the throne of England. Matilda was the daughter and only surviving legitimate child of King Henry I
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
, but following her father's death in late 1135 her cousin Stephen, the son of Henry's sister, had seized the crown. By 1139 Matilda had gathered supporters and was contesting Stephen's right to the throne.
In about 1143 Foliot wrote an account of the proceedings of the council in a letter to one of Matilda's supporters. No action was taken on her claim, and no conclusion was reached as to its validity. The papacy continued to accept Stephen as king, and the pope ordered the English Church to make no changes to the status quo. According to Foliot's letter the council's deliberations centred on the legitimacy of the marriage between Matilda's parents. Matilda's mother, Edith-Matilda, had been educated at a convent, and there was some uncertainty over whether she had taken vows before her marriage to Henry I. At the time of the council, the question caused some concern, although in time most were persuaded that the marriage was valid because Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm of Canterbury , also called of Aosta for his birthplace, and of Bec for his home monastery, was a Benedictine monk, a philosopher, and a prelate of the church who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109...
had performed the ceremony. Foliot seems to have had some doubts in 1139, but before writing his letter of 1143 he had come to believe that Matilda was indeed the legitimate heiress, and he supported the Angevin
House of Plantagenet
The House of Plantagenet , a branch of the Angevins, was a royal house founded by Geoffrey V of Anjou, father of Henry II of England. Plantagenet kings first ruled the Kingdom of England in the 12th century. Their paternal ancestors originated in the French province of Gâtinais and gained the...
cause, as Matilda's claim was known.
Abbot
David I of Scotland
David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...
, before David became King of Scotland. David was the uncle of both the Empress and Stephen's wife. Following his elevation to abbot Foliot recognised Stephen as king, although he seems until then to have supported Matilda.
King Stephen was captured by Matilda's forces on 2 February 1141, and Matilda called a council at Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
to gather support for her assuming the throne. Foliot attended the council and was one of her main supporters in the following months as the Angevin cause tried to place her on the throne.
It was during his time as abbot that Foliot wrote his reply to Brien FitzCount
Brien FitzCount
Brien FitzCount , held the lordships of Wallingford and Abergavenny, and was a staunch supporter of the Empress Matilda during the Anarchy of King Stephen's reign in England in the 1140s.- Illegitimate Birth :He was the illegitimate son of Alan IV, Duke of Brittany...
, one of Matilda's earliest supporters, discussing the Second Council of the Lateran's deliberations on Matilda's cause. FitzCount, in a letter now lost, had presented his reasons for supporting Matilda, and Foliot's reply set forth a defence of Matilda's claim to the throne. Foliot also wrote that Stephen had "dishonoured the episcopate" with his behaviour in 1139, when the king arrested Roger of Salisbury
Roger of Salisbury
Roger was a Norman medieval Bishop of Salisbury and the seventh Lord Chancellor and Lord Keeper of England.-Life:...
, the Bishop of Salisbury
Bishop of Salisbury
The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset...
, and Roger's nephew, Alexander
Alexander of Lincoln
Alexander of Lincoln was a medieval English Bishop of Lincoln, a member of an important administrative and ecclesiastical family. He was the nephew of Roger of Salisbury, a Bishop of Salisbury and Chancellor of England under King Henry I, and he was also related to Nigel, Bishop of Ely...
, who was Bishop of Lincoln, as well as attempting to arrest another of Roger's nephews, Nigel, Bishop of Ely
Bishop of Ely
The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire , together with a section of north-west Norfolk and has its see in the City of Ely, Cambridgeshire, where the seat is located at the...
. After the arrest Stephen forced the bishops to surrender their castles and secular government offices. Most historians see Foliot's letter as firmly supporting Matilda's cause, although one of King Stephen's recent biographers, Donald Matthew, claims that Foliot's support was lukewarm at best, motivated by the location of his abbey in one of Matilda's strongholds. Matthew points out that Gloucester Abbey owed no military service in a feudal levy
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
, which allowed Foliot to avoid choosing sides irrevocably. Matthew also points out that after 1141 Foliot is a signatory to just one of Matilda's charters. Foliot did though address Robert of Gloucester
Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester
Robert Fitzroy, 1st Earl of Gloucester was an illegitimate son of King Henry I of England. He was called "Rufus" and occasionally "de Caen", he is also known as Robert "the Consul"...
's defence of Matilda's rights, buttressing it with arguments of his own. Robert had argued that the Bible supported female succession, and quoted from Numbers, chapter 36, which allowed women to inherit, but prohibited them marrying outside their tribe. In his reply Foliot claimed that Robert had actually used Numbers, chapter 27, which had no restrictions on the marriage of heiresses.
During his time as abbot Foliot became friendly with Ailred of Rievaulx
Ailred of Rievaulx
Aelred , also Aelred, Ælred, Æthelred, etc., was an English writer, abbot of Rievaulx , and saint.-Life:...
, a writer and later saint, who dedicated a book of sermons to him. Another friend and ally from his abbacy was Theobald of Bec, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who during Stephen's reign was attempting to unite the English Church under his leadership. Foliot helped Theobald by forming a communication link to Matilda's side.
Foliot took an interest in the Dorset monastery of Cerne Abbey
Cerne Abbey
Cerne Abbey was a Benedictine monastery founded in 987 AD in the town now called Cerne Abbas by Æthelmær the Stout. Ælfric of Eynsham, the most prolific writer in Old English was known to have spent time at the abbey as a priest and teacher....
, which in 1145 received the Prior of Gloucester Abbey, Bernard, as abbot. Bernard was an active reformer, and Foliot supported Bernard's efforts, but the monks objected to the new abbot, and drove him out of the monastery. Both abbot and monks appealed to the papacy, which supported the abbot. Although Matilda wrote to Foliot, and interceded on behalf of the monks, Foliot pointed out that he was unable to disobey a papal command.
While abbot, Foliot supervised the acquisition of a dependent priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
in the city of Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
for the monastery. Most of the abbey buildings predate Foliot's time as abbot, and there is no sure evidence of any buildings he added to the monastery. During his abbacy, a dispute that had dragged on between Gloucester and the Archdiocese of York over some manors was finally settled in Gloucester's favour. This was done with a group of forged charters that Foliot may have helped to create. Forging charters was a common practice in English monasteries of the time. Foliot also had disputes with the Welsh bishop Uhtred, Bishop of Llandaff, over Goldcliff Priory
Goldcliff Priory
Goldcliff Priory was a Benedictine monastery near Goldcliff, Newport, Wales, founded in 1113 by Robert de Chandos and subject to the abbey of Bec in Normandy. The priory was situated on the site now occupied by Hill Farm, to the south of the current farmhouse, on the prominent knoll of high ground...
and a church in Llancarfan
Llancarfan
Llancarfan is a rural village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The village, located west of Barry near Cowbridge, has a pub and a well-known parish church, the site of Saint Cadoc's 6th-century abbey, famed for its learning...
, concerning tithes and new chapels that had been built without Gloucester Abbey's permission.
Bishop of Hereford
Robert de Bethune
Robert de Bethune was a medieval Bishop of Hereford. The son of a knight, he became a teacher before becoming a canon, a type of monk, by 1115. He was elected prior of Llanthony Priory in the middle 1120s, and was named bishop by King Henry I of England in 1130...
, the Bishop of Hereford, died at the Council of Reims, and Foliot was nominated by Pope Eugene III to fill the Diocese of Hereford
Diocese of Hereford
The Diocese of Hereford is a Church of England diocese based in Hereford, covering Herefordshire, southern Shropshire and a few parishes within Worcestershire in England; and a few parishes within Powys and Monmouthshire in Wales....
, which was held by the Angevin cause. Theobald was behind the appointment, having urged it on the pope. It appears likely that before his consecration Foliot gave assurances that he would not swear fealty to Stephen. He was consecrated Bishop of Hereford on 5 September 1148 at Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer , a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais. The town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area....
by Archbishop Theobald. The other English bishops present at Reims—Hilary of Chichester
Hilary of Chichester
Hilary was a medieval Bishop of Chichester in England. English by birth, he studied canon law and worked in Rome as a papal clerk. During his time there, he became acquainted with a number of ecclesiastics, including the future Pope Adrian IV, and the medieval writer John of Salisbury...
and Josceline de Bohon
Josceline de Bohon
Josceline de Bohon was an English religious leader.-Life:...
—refused to help with the consecration, claiming it was contrary to custom for an English bishop to be consecrated outside of England. Another of the bishops' concerns was that the pope had infringed Stephen's right to a say in the election. After his consecration Foliot swore fealty to Henry of Anjou
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
, the son of the Empress and the new head of the Angevin party.
Foliot switched his allegiance on his return to England and swore fealty to Stephen, angering the Angevins. Theobald managed to secure peace between the parties, saying that Foliot could not refuse to swear homage "to the prince approved by the papacy". Foliot also attempted to hold Hereford in plurality, or at the same time, with the abbey of Gloucester, but the monks of Gloucester objected. Rather than accept a situation like that of Henry of Blois
Henry of Blois
Henry of Blois , often known as Henry of Winchester, was Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey from 1126, and Bishop of Winchester from 1129 to his death.-Early life and education:...
, who held the Diocese of Winchester
Diocese of Winchester
The Diocese of Winchester forms part of the Province of Canterbury of the Church of England.Founded in 676, it is one of the oldest and largest of the dioceses in England.The area of the diocese incorporates:...
as well as being Abbot of Glastonbury, the monks of Gloucester held an election three weeks after Foliot's selection as bishop, and chose their prior as the new abbot.
Foliot supported his uncle Robert de Chesney's nomination to become Bishop of Lincoln, lobbying the pope on Robert's behalf, and maintaining a long correspondence with Robert after his elevation. The letters to this uncle are full of warm sentiments, more than would be expected of a dutiful correspondence. Other episcopal correspondents and friends included Roger de Pont L'Evêque
Roger de Pont L'Evêque
Roger de Pont L'Évêque was a contemporary of Thomas Becket and later Archbishop of York. Born in Normandy, he preceded Becket as Archdeacon of Canterbury, and together with Becket served Theobald of Bec while Theobald was Archbishop of Canterbury...
, the Archbishop of York, Josceline de Bohon, the Bishop of Salisbury, and William de Turbeville
William de Turbeville
William de Turbeville William de Turbeville William de Turbeville (or William Turbe; circa (c. 1095 – January 1174) was a medieval Bishop of Norwich.-Life:Turbeville was educated in the Benedictine cathedral priory of Norwich. Here he also made religious profession, first as a teacher and later as...
, the Bishop of Norwich
Bishop of Norwich
The Bishop of Norwich is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers most of the County of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The see is in the City of Norwich where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided...
, who became a regular correspondent after Foliot was translated to London.
During the later part of Stephen's reign Foliot was active in judicial affairs, including a case in 1150 involving sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
and his kinsman Roger
Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford
Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford, was born some time before 1125 and, according to the Hereford Cathedral Book of Obits, died on 22 September 1155...
, the Earl of Hereford, which ended up in the court of Archbishop Theobald. Foliot's participation in legal affairs led him in 1153 to employ a clerk specialising in Roman law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
.
After Henry of Anjou's accession to the throne of England as Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
in 1154, Foliot persuaded the Earl of Hereford to submit to the new king's demand that he return the custody of certain royal castles to the king. In the summer of 1160, Foliot wrote to Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III , born Rolando of Siena, was Pope from 1159 to 1181. He is noted in history for laying the foundation stone for the Notre Dame de Paris.-Church career:...
, whom the king had just recognised as pope instead of Alexander's rival, Victor IV, intimating that the canonisation of King Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
, which had been delayed by Alexander's predecessor Innocent II, might be warranted as a reward for Henry's recognition of Alexander.
The art historian Hans J. Böker claims that Foliot began the construction of the Bishop's Chapel at Hereford Cathedral
Hereford Cathedral
The current Hereford Cathedral, located at Hereford in England, dates from 1079. Its most famous treasure is Mappa Mundi, a mediæval map of the world dating from the 13th century. The cathedral is a Grade I listed building.-Origins:...
. Böker contends that the architectural style of the chapel (which was destroyed in 1737) resembled that of the German imperial chapels, and was deliberately chosen by Foliot to demonstrate his loyalty to King Henry. However most sources credit Robert of Hereford
Robert of Hereford
Robert of Hereford was a priest who became Bishop of Hereford following the Norman Conquest of England.-Life:...
, bishop from 1079 to 1095, as the builder of the chapel.
When Theobald died in 1160, most observers believed that Foliot was the leading candidate to become archbishop of Canterbury. Traditionally, the see of Canterbury had been held by a monk, at least since the replacement of Stigand
Stigand
Stigand was an English churchman in pre-Norman Conquest England. Although his birthdate is unknown, by 1020, he was serving as a royal chaplain and advisor. He was named Bishop of Elmham in 1043, and then later Bishop of Winchester and Archbishop of Canterbury...
by Lanfranc
Lanfranc
Lanfranc was Archbishop of Canterbury, and a Lombard by birth.-Early life:Lanfranc was born in the early years of the 11th century at Pavia, where later tradition held that his father, Hanbald, held a rank broadly equivalent to magistrate...
in 1070. Although Foliot was a Cluniac monk, they were a subset of the Benedictine Order
Order of Saint Benedict
The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...
and thus the cathedral chapter
Cathedral chapter
In accordance with canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese in his stead. These councils are made up of canons and dignitaries; in the Roman Catholic church their...
at Canterbury, which was Benedictine but not Cluniac, would have had no objections to him on that score. Foliot denied that he ever lobbied for the office, but John of Salisbury
John of Salisbury
John of Salisbury , who described himself as Johannes Parvus , was an English author, educationalist, diplomat and bishop of Chartres, and was born at Salisbury.-Early life and education:...
and Thomas Becket apparently believed that Foliot desired it.
Bishop of London
After Becket's election as archbishop, Foliot was nominated to the Diocese of London, to which he was translated on 6 March 1163. His nomination had been put forward by the king, who wrote to the pope stating that Foliot would be more accessible as an adviser and confessor if he was in London, rather than in Hereford on the Welsh Marches
Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...
. Becket wrote to Foliot urging him to accept the translation. His transfer was confirmed by Pope Alexander III on 19 March 1163 and Foliot was enthroned at London on 28 April 1163. Papal confirmation was required because the movement of bishops from one see to another was still frowned on at this time. The medieval chronicler Ralph de Diceto
Ralph de Diceto
Ralph de Diceto was archdeacon of Middlesex, dean of St Paul's Cathedral , and author of two chronicles, the Abbreviationes Chronicorum and the Ymagines Historiarum.-Early career:...
, who was a canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
at London, states that the cathedral chapter at St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
, London, the cathedral of the London diocese, approved of Foliot's selection. Becket was unable to attend Foliot's enthronement, and Foliot did not make a profession of obedience to the archbishop, arguing that he had already sworn an oath to Canterbury when he became Bishop of Hereford, and thus no further oath was required. The issue was sent to the papacy, but the pope refused to be pinned down to an answer. Foliot then attempted to make London independent of Canterbury by reviving Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I , better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 590 until his death...
's old plan for an archbishopric at London. Foliot proposed either to have London raised to an archdiocese along with Canterbury, or to have London replace Canterbury as the archiepiscopal seat for the southern province. Foliot did though support Becket in the latter's attempt to prevent the Archbishop of York having his archiepiscopal cross borne in procession before him when visiting the province of Canterbury.
By 1166, Foliot had been presented with a petition for annulment of the marriage of Aubrey de Vere, the Earl of Oxford
Earl of Oxford
Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, held for several centuries by the de Vere family from 1141 until the death of the 20th earl in 1703. The Veres were also hereditary holders of the office of master or Lord Great Chamberlain from 1133 until the death of the 18th Earl in 1625...
, and Agnes of Essex
Agnes of Essex
Agnes of Essex, countess of Oxford was the daughter of Henry of Essex and his second wife. She was betrothed at age three to Geoffrey de Vere, brother of the first earl of Oxford, and turned over to the Veres soon thereafter...
. On the couple's third appearance before the bishop in his episcopal court on 9 May 1166, Countess Agnes appealed to the pope to affirm the validity of her marriage. Foliot enclosed her appeal in his own surviving letter setting out the salient features of the case. While the case was under papal consideration, Foliot reprimanded the earl for his treatment of his wife, reminding him that until the pope had ruled otherwise, Agnes was to be considered his wife in bed and board. When Pope Alexander III wrote to the bishop concerning the countess's maltreatment, and requiring Foliot to threaten the earl with excommunication, he also chastised the bishop for his handling of the case.
Henry's conflict with Becket
The king and Becket began quarrelling in July 1163, at first over financial matters and then over the marriage of Henry's younger brother to an heiress, which Becket forbade. The true spark to the quarrel was the matter of clergy who committed crimes, who the king wished to have prosecuted in secular courts; the archbishop refused, arguing that all clergy must be tried in church courts, even if the crime was non-ecclesiastical. At the Council of Westminster called by Henry in October 1163 to deal with the issue, Foliot at first sided with the other bishops, who supported Becket's position and opposed the king. However, after the council was dismissed, Foliot became the leader of those bishops who changed sides in support of the king. In December, Becket capitulated to the king.
In January 1164 the king summoned a council at Clarendon
Clarendon Palace
Clarendon Palace is a medieval ruin near Salisbury in Wiltshire, England.The palace was a royal residence during the Middle Ages, and was the location of the Assize of Clarendon which developed the Constitutions of Clarendon.-Roman Times:...
. The bishops were asked to approve the Constitutions of Clarendon
Constitutions of Clarendon
The Constitutions of Clarendon were a set of legislative procedures passed by Henry II of England in 1164. The Constitutions were composed of 16 articles and represent an attempt to restrict ecclesiastical privileges and curb the power of the Church courts and the extent of Papal authority in England...
, which proposed restrictions on the powers of the Church and limits to papal authority in England; Becket's refusal led to the great dispute between king and archbishop, into which Foliot and his fellow bishops were inevitably drawn. When Becket appeared before the court with his archiepiscopal cross borne before him, a studied insult to the king, Foliot told the archbishop that "If the king were to brandish his sword, as you now brandish yours, what hope can there be of peace between you?" The king refused to see Becket, and negotiations between the two camps soon revealed that Becket had ordered the bishops to refuse to pass judgement on him and threatened them with suspension from ecclesiastical office if they did. Becket also threatened to appeal the case to the papacy. Both of these actions by the archbishop breached the Constitutions of Clarendon. During the subsequent back and forth between the bishops and the king, as well as the bishops and the archbishop, Foliot was asked by one of his fellow bishops to try and persuade Becket to modify his behaviour. Foliot replied that Becket "was always a fool and always will be".
After the bishops refused to pass judgment, the barons attempted to do so, but Becket refused to hear the court and left the council without the king's permission. Soon afterward, Foliot, along with Hilary of Chichester, went to Becket and suggested a compromise, which Becket refused. Becket went into exile after this last attempt at a settlement, and arrived in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
on 2 November 1164. Foliot was sent, along with Roger, the Archbishop of York, Hilary of Chichester, Bartholomew Iscanus
Bartholomew Iscanus
Bartholomew Iscanus was a medieval Bishop of Exeter.-Early life:Bartholomew was a native of Normandy, and was probably born in Millières, a village in the Cotentin near Lessay and Périers. He was a clerk of Theobald of Bec, Archbishop of Canterbury before becoming Archdeacon of Exeter in 1155...
, the Bishop of Exeter
Bishop of Exeter
The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The incumbent usually signs his name as Exon or incorporates this in his signature....
, Roger of Worcester
Roger of Worcester
Roger of Worcester was Bishop of Worcester from 1164 to 1179. He had a major role in the controversy between Henry II of England, who was Roger's cousin, and Archbishop Thomas Becket.-Life:...
, the Bishop of Worcester
Bishop of Worcester
The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. He is the head of the Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury...
, William d'Aubigny
William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Arundel
William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Lincoln and 1st Earl of Arundel , also known as William d'Albini, was son of William d'Aubigny, 'Pincerna' of Old Buckenham Castle in Norfolk, and Maud Bigod, daughter of Roger Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk.-Marriage and Issue:The younger William was an important member...
, the Earl of Arundel
Earl of Arundel
The title Earl of Arundel is the oldest extant Earldom and perhaps the oldest extant title in the Peerage of England. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and is used by his heir apparent as a courtesy title. It was created in 1138 for the Norman baron Sir William d'Aubigny...
, and a group of royal clerks, to Thierry
Thierry, Count of Flanders
Thierry of Alsace , in Flanders known as Diederik van den Elzas, was count of Flanders from 1128 to 1168. He was the youngest son of Duke Thierry II of Lorraine and Gertrude of Flanders...
the Count of Flanders
Count of Flanders
The Count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders from the 9th century until the abolition of the position by the French revolutionaries in 1790....
, Louis VII
Louis VII of France
Louis VII was King of France, the son and successor of Louis VI . He ruled from 1137 until his death. He was a member of the House of Capet. His reign was dominated by feudal struggles , and saw the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England...
the King of France, and Pope Alexander III. Their mission was to prevent the archbishop from being given refuge, but despite their efforts Louis of France agreed to grant Becket refuge. Foliot's delegation met with more success at the papal court
Roman Curia
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
; although they did not succeed in securing a decision in the king's favour, neither did the pope side with the archbishop.
Becket's exile
Peter's Pence
Peter's Pence is payment made more or less voluntarily to the Roman Catholic Church. It began under the Saxons in England and is seen in other countries. Though formally discontinued in England at the time of the Reformation, a post-Reformation payment of uncertain characteristics is seen in some...
, the annual payment from England to the papacy. Foliot observed during the conflict that it was not a theological or moral dispute, merely one over church government. During Becket's exile, the king confiscated the archbishop's estates, and also confiscated the benefice
Benefice
A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...
s of the clerks who had followed Becket into exile. Foliot was made custodian of those benefices in the diocese of Canterbury
Diocese of Canterbury
The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England diocese covering eastern Kent, founded by St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597. It is centred on Canterbury Cathedral, and is the oldest see of the Church of England....
. Becket blamed both Foliot and Roger of York for the confiscations, but evidence appears to show that the confiscations were Henry's decision, and that Foliot, at least, was a conscientious custodian who made sure that little profit went to the king, and most of the revenues from the benefices went to religious purposes.
In early summer 1165, Pope Alexander III wrote twice to Foliot, ordering him to intercede with the king and protest the royal injunction against appeals to the papacy. Foliot replied that the king respected the pope, heard his protests carefully, and that the archbishop had not been expelled, but had left of his own accord. Foliot wrote that the king had said Becket was free to return at any time, but would still have to answer to the charges he had faced at Northampton. Foliot then advised the pope not to impose any sentences of excommunication and to be patient and continue to negotiate. In 1166, Foliot accused Becket of simony
Simony
Simony is the act of paying for sacraments and consequently for holy offices or for positions in the hierarchy of a church, named after Simon Magus , who appears in the Acts of the Apostles 8:9-24...
, or the purchase of church offices, basing this on the alleged purchase Becket had made of the chancellorship, although there is no evidence that Becket bought the office. By 1166, the king had made Foliot the head of the English Church, in fact if not in law. The king and Foliot got along well, and it was probably Foliot's influence that kept the king from more violent measures against Becket.
On 10 June 1166, Becket excommunicated a number of his opponents, some specifically by name, as well as any who opposed his cause. Henry's response was to order the English bishops to appeal to the pope, which they did at a council that Foliot organised and led in London on 24 June. The appeal was written by Foliot, and a separate letter from the bishops, also written by Foliot, was sent to the archbishop. The bishops rested their case on the fact that those excommunicated had not been warned or allowed to defend themselves. They pointed out to the pope that the king had not escalated the conflict and had behaved reasonably to the last papal overtures in the summer of 1165. Becket replied to these moves with a letter written to Foliot that was full of resentment and reproaches. Foliot's reply, in a letter that is usually titled Multiplicem nobis, set forth his view of Becket's abilities as archbishop as well as giving reasons why Becket was wrong. He then suggested that the archbishop compromise and exercise some humility in order to reach his goals. By the end of 1166, Foliot managed to resign his custody of the confiscated Canterbury benefices, something he had been attempting to do for some time, thus removing one source of conflict between him and Becket.
In November 1167 Foliot was summoned to Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, then ruled by Henry II, to meet with papal legate
Papal legate
A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
s and the king. Roger of York, Hilary of Chichester, and Roger of Worcester were also summoned to attend. After some discussion and argument, Henry appears to have agreed that the legates could judge both the king's case against Becket as well as the bishops' case. Henry also offered a compromise on the subject of the Constitutions of Clarendon, that the legates accepted. However, when the legates met with Becket on 18 November, it quickly became apparent that Becket would not accept negotiations with the king nor accept the legates as judges of either case against him. As the legates had no mandate to compel Becket to accept them as judges, the negotiations came to an end with the king and bishops still appealing to the papacy.
On 13 April 1169, Becket excommunicated Foliot, along with Hugh, Earl of Norfolk
Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk
Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk was born in Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire, England.He was the second son of Roger Bigod , Sheriff of Norfolk, who founded the Bigod name in England...
, Josceline de Bohun, and seven royal officials. Becket did this even though none of them had been warned, and despite the fact that the pope had asked that Becket not make any such sentences until after a pending embassy to King Henry had ended. Becket also warned a number of others that unless they made amends to him, they too would be excommunicated on 29 May, Ascension Day. In his excommunication, Becket called Foliot "that wolf in sheep's clothing". Although Foliot tried to enlist the help of his fellow bishops in an appeal, they were less than helpful. Foliot then prepared to appeal his sentence to the pope in person, and travelled to Normandy in late June or early July, where he met the king, but proceeded no further towards Rome, as the papacy was attempting once more to secure a negotiated settlement. In late August and early September serious but ultimately fruitless negotiations took place between the king and the archbishop.
Foliot then proceeded to Rome, but at Milan he received word that his envoy at the papal court had secured the right for him to be absolved by the Archbishop of Rouen, Rotrou. Foliot then returned to Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
, where he was absolved on 5 April and reinstated in his see on 1 May. The only requirement of this absolution was that Foliot accept a penance to be imposed by the pope. Much of Foliot's objections to Becket's excommunication stemmed from the lack of warning that Foliot and the others had received, contrary to the customary and normal procedures. Becket and his supporters pointed out that there were some situations in which it was possible to excommunicate without warning, but Foliot claimed that the present situation was not one of them. According to Foliot, Becket's habit was "to condemn first, judge second". Foliot's example of appealing excommunications to the papacy was an important step in the setting up of an appeal process for excommunication during the 12th century.
Death of Becket and aftermath
Henry the Young King
Henry, known as the Young King was the second of five sons of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine but the first to survive infancy. He was officially King of England; Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou and Maine.-Early life:Little is known of the young prince Henry before the events...
, was crowned King of England by the Archbishop of York, which infringed on the right of Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury to crown English monarchs. Although there is no definitive evidence that Foliot assisted in the coronation it appears likely that he did so. The coronation drove the pope to allow Becket to lay an interdict
Interdict (Roman Catholic Church)
In Roman Catholic canon law, an interdict is an ecclesiastical censure that excludes from certain rites of the Church individuals or groups, who nonetheless do not cease to be members of the Church.-Distinctions in canon law:...
, or decree prohibiting church rites, on England as punishment, and the threat of an interdict forced Henry to negotiate with Becket in July 1170. Becket and the king came to terms on 22 July 1170, allowing the archbishop to return to England, which he did in early December. However, shortly before he landed in England, he excommunicated Roger of York, Josceline of Salisbury, and Foliot. One possible reason for the excommunications was that the three ecclesiastics had electors from the various vacant bishoprics with them, and were escorting those electors to the king on the continent in order to reward a number of royal clerks with the long vacant bishoprics. Included among those royal clerks were some of Becket's most bitter foes during his exile. Although Becket offered to absolve Josceline and Foliot, he argued that only the pope could absolve Roger, as he was an archbishop. Roger persuaded the other two to appeal to the king, then in Normandy. When they did so, the royal anger at the timing of the excommunications was such that it led to Henry uttering the question often attributed to him "Will no one rid me of the turbulent priest". This inspired four knights to set off from the king's court in Normandy to Canterbury, where on 29 December 1170, they murdered Becket.
After Becket's death his sentences of excommunication were confirmed, as well as the suspensions from ecclesiastical office. The pope in his confirmation referred to Roger of York, Foliot, and Josceline of Salisbury, as the "Gilbertine trinity". The excommunication was absolved for Foliot on 1 August 1171, but he remained suspended from office. He secured his restoration to office on 1 May 1172, after clearing himself of any involvement in Becket's murder. The king performed a public act of penance on 12 July 1174 at Canterbury, when he publicly confessed his sins, and then allowed each bishop present, including Foliot, to give him five blows from a rod, then each of the 80 monks of Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
gave the king three blows. The king then offered gifts to Becket's shrine and spent a vigil at Becket's tomb.
Foliot and Becket seem to have been on amicable terms until 1163, but their relationship seems to have soured after that date. Becket accused Foliot in 1167 with: "your aim has all along been to effect the downfall of the Church and ourself". After the pope absolved Foliot's excommunication in early 1170, Becket exclaimed to a cardinal that "Satan is unloosed for the destruction of the Church". A modern biographer of Becket, the historian Frank Barlow
Frank Barlow (historian)
Frank Barlow CBE FBA FRSL was a British historian, known particularly for biographies of medieval figures.Barlow studied at St John's College, Oxford. He was Professor of History at the University of Exeter from 1953 until he retired in 1976 and became Emeritus Professor...
, feels that one reason for Becket's change in behaviour after his election as archbishop was due to his need to "out-bishop" the other bishops, and prevent Foliot from making any more jibes about his inadequacies as an ecclesiastic.
Foliot was mainly a force for moderation in the quarrel between the king and the archbishop, urging restraint on Becket and curbing the king's attempts to impose the Constitutions more rigorously. Foliot's rhetoric against the archbishop was pointed and effective. Foliot also developed the novel legal filing of ad cautelam, which was an appeal to the papacy against any future action by the archbishop. Although Foliot's tactic of ad cautelam was ridiculed by his opponents, the papacy did not challenge the technique.
During his time as bishop Foliot served for many years as a papal judge-delegate
Papal judge-delegate
A papal judge delegate was a type of judicial appointment created during the 12th century by the medieval papacy where the pope would designate a local judge, often an ecclesiastic, to decide a case that had been appealed to the papal court....
, especially in his later years. He was active in both of his dioceses in supporting his cathedral chapters and other religious houses of the dioceses. He kept in constant contact with his archdeacon
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...
s and dean
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
s about the administration of the dioceses.
Writings
Foliot was well known as a letter writer, and his letters were later collected as a book. The main manuscript for this collection, now held at the Bodleian LibraryBodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
, is supposed to have originated in Foliot's own writing office. About 250 to 300 examples of Foliot's letters have survived, which together with his surviving charters gives a total of almost 500 items. The collection was printed in a modern edition edited by Adrian Morey and Christopher N. L. Brooke
Christopher N. L. Brooke
Christopher Nugent Lawrence Brooke, MA, Litt.D, CBE, FBA is a British medieval historian. He is the son of Zachary Nugent Brooke.Brooke taught at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University, from 1977 to 1994...
and published by the Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
in 1967, under the title of The Letters and Charters of Gilbert Foliot. Some of the letters have appeared in volumes five through eight of Materials for the History of Thomas Becket, from the Rolls Series
Rolls Series
The Rolls Series, official title The Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages, is a major collection of British and Irish historical materials and primary sources, published in the second half of the 19th century. Some 255 volumes, representing 99 separate...
, published from 1875–1885. Older editions appeared in the Patres ecclesiae Anglicanae series from the 1840s, and in Migne's Patrologica from 1854. The letters cover most of the period of Foliot's public life, and are one of the main sources for the history of that period. The historian David Knowles said of the collection that "owing to its wealth of personal and local detail [it] is of the greatest value for the church historian". According to Knowles, Foliot's letters paint a picture of an active bishop and ecclesiastical leader who supported the Gregorian church reforms
Gregorian Reform
The Gregorian Reforms were a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, circa 1050–80, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy...
but did not meddle in politics beyond those of the church. His letters are typical of the educated letter writer of his time, refined and polished to an art form.
Foliot also wrote a number of sermons and commentaries on the Bible. Of the commentaries, only those on the Song of Songs
Song of Solomon
The Song of Songs of Solomon, commonly referred to as Song of Songs or Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible—one of the megillot —found in the last section of the Tanakh, known as the Ketuvim...
and the Lord's Prayer
Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is a central prayer in Christianity. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, it appears in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the discourse on ostentation in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the Gospel of Luke, which records Jesus being approached by "one of his...
still survive. The commentary on the Song of Songs was first printed in 1638, by Patrick Young
Patrick Young
Patrick Young was a Scottish scholar and royal librarian to King James VI and I, and King Charles I. He was a noted Biblical and patristic scholar.-Life:...
, and again in the Patrologia Latina
Patrologia Latina
The Patrologia Latina is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques-Paul Migne between 1844 and 1855, with indices published between 1862 and 1865....
volume 202. The commentary on the Lord's Prayer was first published by David Bell in 1989. The commentary on the Song of Songs has been printed three times, the last in the middle of the 20th century. About 60 of his acta, or decisions, as Bishop of Hereford still survive, and from his time at London a further 150 or so are extant. A contemporary, Peter, the prior of Holy Trinity Priory in Aldgate
Aldgate
Aldgate was the eastern most gateway through London Wall leading from the City of London to Whitechapel and the east end of London. Aldgate gives its name to a ward of the City...
, London, heard Foliot preach a sermon at a synod, and praised the sermon as "adorned with flowers of words and sentences and supported by a copious array of authorities. It ran backwards and forwards on its path from its starting-point back to the same starting point." The sermon so inspired Peter that he wrote a work entitled Pantheologus, which dealt with the distinctio method of exegesis
Exegesis
Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
, which was developing around this time. All of Foliot's surviving theological works are based on exegesis, and may include nine sermons on the subject of Saints Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
and Paul, which were dedicated to Ailred of Rivaulx. These sermons are dedicated to a "Gilbert, Bishop of London", which could mean either Foliot or an earlier bishop, Gilbert Universalis
Gilbert Universalis
Gilbert Universalis was a medieval Bishop of London.-Life:Gilbert was elected to the see of London about December 1127. He was consecrated on 22 January 1128. He died on 9 August 1134...
. However, the historian Richard Sharpe
Richard Sharpe (historian)
Richard Sharpe is Professor of Diplomatic at the University of Oxford, based at Wadham College. His interests are broadly the history of medieval England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales...
feels that the fact that the sermons are paired with a group of Ailred's sermons dedicated to Foliot makes their authorship by Foliot slightly more likely. These sermons survive in manuscript, now in the British Library as Royal 2 D.xxxii, but have not yet been printed. A further group of sermons which were dedicated to Haimo, the abbot of Bordesley
Bordesley Abbey
Bordesley Abbey was a 12th century Cistercian abbey near the town of Redditch, in Worcestershire, England.The abbey's foundation has been attributed to Queen Maud, but it is actually down to Waleran de Beaumont, Count of Meulan who gave the monks of Garendon Abbey in Leicestershire some more land....
, did not survive, but is known from the surviving dedication letter.
The antiquarian John Bale
John Bale
John Bale was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English , and developed and published a very extensive list of the works of British authors down to his own time, just as the monastic libraries were being...
in the 1550s listed six works of Foliot known to him, five of which were letters. The sixth work known to Bale was the commentary on the Song of Songs, which survived in a single manuscript, now in the Bodleian Library. Young also recorded a Lundinensis Ecclesiae as being by Foliot. The scholar John Pits gave much the same list in 1619, adding one work, a Vitas aliquot sanctorum Angliae, Librum unun, but this work never appears in a medieval book catalogue and has not survived under this name so it is unclear if Foliot wrote such a work. The antiquary Thomas Tanner
Thomas Tanner (bishop)
Thomas Tanner was an English antiquary and prelate.-Life:He was born at Market Lavington in Wiltshire, and was educated at Queen's College, Oxford, taking holy orders in 1694...
, writing in the early 18th century, listed Foliot as the author of the seven works given by Bale and Pits, adding an eighth, the Tractatus Gilberti, episcopi London: Super Istud "Sunt diuae olivae", citing John Leland, the 16th-century antiquary, as his source. This apparently is the collection of nine sermons on Saints Peter and Paul that has yet to be published and is still in manuscript at the Bodleian Library. Leland also listed another work by Foliot, the Omeliae Gileberti, episcopi Herefordensis, which he stated was held at Forde Abbey
Forde Abbey
Forde Abbey is a privately owned former Cistercian monastery in Dorset, England. The house and gardens are run as a tourist attraction while the estate is farmed to provide additional revenue...
. This work, since lost, might have been the sermons mentioned above, or could have been a known collection of homilies, also lost. It is also possible that another Gilbert was the author. Lastly, Walter Map recorded that Foliot had begun work on a "the Old and the New Law" shortly before his death.
Death and legacy
Foliot died on 18 February 1187. The medieval chronicler Walter MapWalter Map
Walter Map was a medieval writer of works written in Latin. Only one work is attributed to Map with any certainty: De Nugis Curialium.-Life:...
praised him as "a man most accomplished in the three languages, Latin, French and English, and eloquent and clear in each of them". The modern historian Frank Barlow says of him that "It was probably because he was so self-righteous that it could be suggested that his behaviour was sometimes devious." He went blind some time during the 1180s, but continued to work on his biblical writings.
Foliot sent his nephew, Richard Foliot, and another clerk of his household to Bologna to study law in the 1160s, exemplifying the growing emphasis laid on Roman law among his countrymen. Another nephew was Ralph Foliot
Ralph Foliot
Ralph Foliot was a medieval English clergyman and royal justice.Foliot was a nephew of Gilbert Foliot, first Bishop of Hereford and later Bishop of London, but the names of Ralph's parents and his place of birth are unknown...
, Archdeacon of Hereford and a royal justice during the reign of Richard I. During his time at both dioceses he did much to promote his relatives, and all of the archdeacons he appointed while at London were either nephews or other relatives. A member of his household at Hereford was the scholar Roger of Hereford
Roger of Hereford
Roger of Hereford was a medieval astronomer active at Hereford in the period 1178 to 1198.Nothing is known of Roger's nationality or when he was born nor of his education...
, who dedicated his computus
Computus
Computus is the calculation of the date of Easter in the Christian calendar. The name has been used for this procedure since the early Middle Ages, as it was one of the most important computations of the age....
, or treatise on calculating dates, to Foliot. Another work, the Ysagoge in Theologiam, was dedicated to him by a writer named Odo while Foliot was still a prior in France.
External links
- Text of the Constitutions of Clarendon Hosted at Yale University's Avalon ProjectAvalon ProjectThe Avalon Project is a digital library of documents relating to law, history and diplomacy. The project is part of the Yale Law School Lillian Goldman Law Library....