Hilary of Chichester
Encyclopedia
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
. In England, he served as a clerk for Henry of Blois
, who was the Bishop of Winchester
and brother of King Stephen of England
. After Hilary's unsuccessful nomination to become Archbishop of York
, Pope Eugene III
compensated him by promoting him to the bishopric of Chichester in 1147.
Hilary spent many years in a struggle with Battle Abbey
, attempting to assert his right as bishop to oversee the abbey. He also clashed with Thomas Becket
, then chancellor to King Henry II of England
, later Archbishop of Canterbury
; Hilary supported King Henry II's position in the conflict with Becket. Henry appointed Hilary a sheriff, and employed him as a judge in the royal courts. The papacy also used Hilary as a judge-delegate
, to hear cases referred back to England. Known for supporting his clergy and as a canon lawyer, or someone trained in ecclesiastical law, Hilary worked to have Edward the Confessor
, a former English king, canonized
as a saint
.
of Salisbury Cathedral
, and they both may have come from around Salisbury. Hilary served as a clerk for Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester, and as Dean
of the church of Christchurch in Twynham, Hampshire, probably receiving both offices through the influence of Henry of Blois. Christchurch was a collegiate church
of secular clergy
, or clergy who were not monks, and Hilary was dean of the church by 1139. He was educated as a canon lawyer, and was an advocate, or lawyer, in Rome in 1144. While in Rome, he also served in the papal chancery
, or writing office, in 1146. Some of his coworkers in the chancery were Robert Pullen
, John of Salisbury, and Nicholas Breakspear
who later became pope, as Adrian IV.
As Dean of Christchurch, Hilary restored the organization to its traditional round of religious ceremonies that had been abandoned by his predecessors, as well as securing grants of privileges and lands. He ordered the writing of a history of the church at Christchurch, a book which still survives. Hilary was unsuccessful as a candidate for the archbishopric of York against Henry Murdac
in 1147, but Pope Eugene III chose to compensate him by appointing him to the see of Chichester
. His candidacy to York had been supported by Hugh de Puiset
, then treasurer of York and later Bishop of Durham, and by Robert of Ghent
, who was Dean of York
and Lord Chancellor
of England, as well as by King Stephen of England. Hilary seems to have received the largest number of votes, but because the election was disputed by Murdac's supporters the result was referred to the papacy, and Eugene chose Murdac. Hilary was appointed to Chichester in July 1147, and he was consecrated on 3 August 1147. Theobald of Bec
, the Archbishop of Canterbury, consecrated him at Canterbury, with Nigel, the Bishop of Ely
, Robert
, the Bishop of Bath
, and William de Turbeville
, the Bishop of Norwich
, assisting in the ceremony. For a number of years, Hilary continued to hold the deanship in plurality
, which is the holding of two ecclesiastical benefices at once.
at Reims
in 1148 along with Robert de Bethune
, who was the Bishop of Hereford
, and William de Turbeville. Theobald of Bec was also present, even though the king had forbidden him to attend. The medieval chronicler Gervase of Canterbury
stated that Stephen wanted to weaken Theobald's standing with the papacy, but Stephen also would have wished to assert his authority over the English Church by insisting on the right to limit papal contact with the English bishops, something that his predecessors had always done.
Hilary attempted to excuse the king's attempt to exclude Theobald from the council, which appears to be the main reason why Stephen allowed Hilary to attend. Hilary was rewarded for his loyalty by being named a queen's chaplain. Soon after the council, Robert de Bethune died and Gilbert Foliot
was elected to the see of Hereford
, at the direction of the pope. Theobald was in exile in Flanders
because he had defied the king, so the pope ordered Robert de Sigello
, the Bishop of London
, Josceline de Bohon
, the Bishop of Salisbury
, and Hilary, to go to Flanders to help Theobald consecrate Gilbert. However, the three bishops were reluctant, and told the pope that because Gilbert had not received the royal assent, nor had he sworn fealty to Stephen, they would not consecrate him. Theobald then consecrated Gilbert with the help of some continental bishops. Hilary was one of the bishops who made peace between Theobald and Stephen after the council at Reims, helping in the negotiations after Theobald's return to England. Theobald settled himself at Hugh Bigod
's castle of Framlingham
; negotiations between the royal party and the archbishop's party resulted in the king yielding, and in the restoration of the archbishop to his lands.
Hilary struggled with the abbot of Battle Abbey for many years over the exemption claimed by the abbey from the oversight of the Bishop of Chichester, in whose diocese it was located. The abbey had never received a papal exemption, but relied instead on its royal foundation by King William I of England
, and its status as an eigenkirche
, or proprietary church of the king. Under King Stephen, the abbey's claims prevailed, but after Stephen's death Hilary excommunicated the abbot, who appealed to the papacy. The appeal backfired however, as Hilary obtained from both Pope Eugenius III and Pope Hadrian IV orders for the abbot to obey the bishop. In 1157, the then Abbot of Battle
, Walter de Lucy
, brother of Richard de Luci
the Chief Justiciar
, took the case before King Henry II, at a council held at Colchester
.
At the council, Walter de Lucy produced William I's foundation charter and the confirmation by King Henry I of England
, Henry II's grandfather. Both documents were admitted as genuine, and as freeing the abbey from ecclesiastical oversight, as Henry II had at his coronation confirmed all his grandfather's charters. Modern scholarship has shown, however, that at least one of the documents had been recently forged, shortly before 1155. Hilary argued that only a papal privilege could exempt a monastery from episcopal oversight, and that the abbey had no such privilege. Hilary argued that no king could grant such an exemption, unless they had a licence from the papacy. Henry was unimpressed by this argument, for it impinged on his royal prerogative. Thomas Becket, then Henry's chancellor but later to be famous for his dispute with Henry over ecclesiastical privileges, was one of Hilary's chief opponents at this council. Eventually, the case was decided by persuading Hilary to renounce any episcopal claims on the abbey.
Henry II's biographer, the historian W. L. Warren, suggests that Hilary was pressed to bring the case against Battle Abbey by his cathedral chapter
, and that Hilary did not pursue the case vigorously. The historian Henry Mayr-Harting
, sees the case against the abbey as the lone exception in Hilary's long career of support for the royal position against the papacy, and argues that the only reason Hilary opposed the king in this respect was that it was Hilary's own rights as a diocesan bishop that were being flouted. Mayr-Harting also suggests that Theobald of Bec was supporting Hilary's efforts to assert Chichester's rights.
The historian Nicholas Vincent argues that the entire basis of this account, which ultimately rests on the Chronicle of Battle Abbey, is part of the forgeries produced by the Battle monks. He argues that the only documentary evidence detailing course of the legal battle besides the Chronicle is a forged charter of Henry II to the abbey and a letter of Theobald's that itself may be forged, as it repeats the story of the Chronicle almost word for word. Vincent's point is that although there was no doubt a dispute between Hilary and the abbey over a claimed exemption, as evidenced by a 1170 letter of Becket's referring to some sort of settlement between the monks and the bishop, the actual account in the Chronicle is untrustworthy. Unfortunately, the 1170 letter does not give any details of the dispute, merely stating that the bishop was "forced to make public peace with the abbot".
Hilary held the office of Sheriff of Sussex
in 1155, and then again in 1160 through 1162. It was very unusual for a bishop to hold the post of sheriff, and was a measure of the trust that King Henry II had in Hilary. Hilary was the only bishop to hold the office of sheriff during Henry's reign, with the possible exception of Robert de Chesney
, the Bishop of Lincoln
. An English church council in 1143 had forbidden clergy to hold office as stewards or tax gatherers for non-clergy. As the office of sheriff involved the gathering of the county farm, or income from the county, and the payment of those revenues into the Exchequer
, clergy holding office as sheriffs would have been acting against the decrees of the 1143 council. Hilary was well known as a canon lawyer, and was often employed by the papacy as a judge-delegate, hearing cases that had been appealed to Rome, and then sent back to the country of origin for trial. He also assisted other papal judges, including Theobald of Bec. Hilary served in England as a royal justice in 1156, and then was with the king in Normandy from late 1156 to April 1157. Hilary acted as judge-delegate for the papacy in at least 15 cases during his bishopric. He acted as a legal advisor to Henry II on a number of occasions, and Hilary's clerks occasionally drew up documents for the king.
Hilary created the offices of treasurer and chancellor of the diocese of Chichester, in order to regulate and improve the finances of the cathedral chapter and the diocese. He also was involved in the canonization of Edward the Confessor, writing a letter to Pope Alexander III
in favour of Edward's sainthood, and was one of the three bishops who announced the canonization at Westminster Abbey
and celebrated a mass in honour of the new saint. The other bishops were Robert de Chesney and Nigel, Bishop of Ely.
In May 1162, Hilary was part of the deputation sent to the monks of Christ Church Priory
by King Henry II to secure the election of Thomas Becket as the next Archbishop of Canterbury. When Gilbert Foliot, the Bishop of Hereford, objected to Becket's candidacy, Hilary took the position that the king desired the election, so the bishops and electors should elect the king's choice. When it was suggested that a monk should hold Canterbury, as had been the custom previously, Hilary asked if the questioners thought that only one way of life was satisfactory to God.
The next year, a council held at Westminster became one of the early stages in the king's growing quarrel
with Becket over criminal clerks. The quarrel was sparked by the problem of clergy who committed crimes; Becket supported the Church's position that all clergy, even those in minor orders, could be tried only in ecclesiastical courts. As perhaps as many as a fifth of the population of England may have been in some form of clerical orders
, including the minor ones
, allowing this would have diminished the king's authority. In the past, English law had tried clerks who committed serious offences in the royal courts, but recent changes in canon law were changing this practice. At Westminster, Henry tried to get the leading laymen and bishops to swear to uphold the old customs of England, instead of the newer canon law practices. All the bishops swore, with the reservation that the customs were not in conflict with canon law. Hilary, however, added no qualifiers to his oath. Although the oath supported Becket's position, after the council most of the bishops, including Hilary, were persuaded by the king to support some compromise position, and threw their support behind Henry.
After the Council of Westminster, Hilary supported the king throughout the Becket dispute, and one factor in his royalist position may have been that Hilary remembered who had opposed his case against Battle Abbey, and thus refused to support the archbishop. Towards the end of 1163, Henry sent Hilary on an embassy to Becket, to persuade the archbishop to modify his position, but Becket was unmoved. Hilary also took part in the king's embassy in 1164 to Pope Alexander III and King Louis VII of France
, which attempted to persuade the pope and the king of France to favour King Henry instead of Becket, and to keep Becket from finding a haven in France during his exile.
s who resided at the parish churches and performed the actual cure of souls
, or pastoral duties, in his diocese. He was also a benefactor of libraries, and worked hard to recover lands once belonging to his church but lost in the years of Stephen's reign
. He also promoted clerical reform in his diocese, working to change many of the churches that had chapters of secular clergy into churches with chapters of Augustinian
canons. Hilary secured the consent of his cathedral chapter for any grants of lands, even those that he had acquired personally. Thirty-five documents survive from his bishopric, but few of them can be attributed to a specific date. One is his profession of obedience to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the others are a mix of charters, judgements made by Hilary, and confirmations of rights and privileges.
Hilary's clerks were trained in administration, and one of them, his nephew Jocelin, was named chancellor of Chichester Cathedral
by his uncle. Jocelin later became Archdeacon of Lewes, and a royal judge. A number of Hilary's clerks served with Thomas Becket for a time, most of them after leaving Hilary's service.
Bishop of Chichester
The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the Counties of East and West Sussex. The see is in the City of Chichester where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity...
in England. English by birth, he studied canon law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
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
Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV , born Nicholas Breakspear or Breakspeare, was Pope from 1154 to 1159.Adrian IV is the only Englishman who has occupied the papal chair...
, and the medieval writer 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:...
. In England, he served as a clerk for 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 was the 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...
and brother of King Stephen of England
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...
. After Hilary's unsuccessful nomination to become Archbishop 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...
, 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:...
compensated him by promoting him to the bishopric of Chichester in 1147.
Hilary spent many years in a struggle with Battle Abbey
Battle Abbey
Battle Abbey is a partially ruined abbey complex in the small town of Battle in East Sussex, England. The abbey was built on the scene of the Battle of Hastings and dedicated to St...
, attempting to assert his right as bishop to oversee the abbey. He also clashed with 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...
, then chancellor to King Henry II of England
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...
, later 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...
; Hilary supported King Henry II's position in the conflict with Becket. Henry appointed Hilary a sheriff, and employed him as a judge in the royal courts. The papacy also used Hilary as a 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....
, to hear cases referred back to England. Known for supporting his clergy and as a canon lawyer, or someone trained in ecclesiastical law, Hilary worked to have 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....
, a former English king, canonized
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
as a saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
.
Early life
Hilary was probably born around 1110, and was likely of low birth, but nothing is known of his ancestry. His brother was a canonCanon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture....
, and they both may have come from around Salisbury. Hilary served as a clerk for Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester, and as 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:...
of the church of Christchurch in Twynham, Hampshire, probably receiving both offices through the influence of Henry of Blois. Christchurch was a collegiate church
Chapter (religion)
Chapter designates certain corporate ecclesiastical bodies in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Nordic Lutheran churches....
of secular clergy
Secular clergy
The term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or members of a religious order.-Catholic Church:In the Catholic Church, the secular clergy are ministers, such as deacons and priests, who do not belong to a religious order...
, or clergy who were not monks, and Hilary was dean of the church by 1139. He was educated as a canon lawyer, and was an advocate, or lawyer, in Rome in 1144. While in Rome, he also served in the papal chancery
Apostolic Chancery
The Chancery of Apostolic Briefs , is a former office of the Roman Curia, merged into the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs by Pope Pius X on June 29, 1908 with the apostolic constitution Sapienti Consilio...
, or writing office, in 1146. Some of his coworkers in the chancery were 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....
, John of Salisbury, and Nicholas Breakspear
Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV , born Nicholas Breakspear or Breakspeare, was Pope from 1154 to 1159.Adrian IV is the only Englishman who has occupied the papal chair...
who later became pope, as Adrian IV.
As Dean of Christchurch, Hilary restored the organization to its traditional round of religious ceremonies that had been abandoned by his predecessors, as well as securing grants of privileges and lands. He ordered the writing of a history of the church at Christchurch, a book which still survives. Hilary was unsuccessful as a candidate for the archbishopric of York against Henry Murdac
Henry Murdac
Henry Murdac was abbot of Fountains Abbey and Archbishop of York in medieval England,-Early life:Murdac was a native of Yorkshire. He was friendly with Archbishop Thurstan of York, who secured his promotion in the cathedral chapter of York Minster, however Murdac resigned soon afterwards when...
in 1147, but Pope Eugene III chose to compensate him by appointing him to the see of Chichester
Diocese of Chichester
The Diocese of Chichester is a Church of England diocese based in Chichester, covering Sussex. It was created in 1075 to replace the old Diocese of Selsey, which was based at Selsey Abbey from 681. The cathedral is Chichester Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Chichester...
. His candidacy to York had been supported by Hugh de Puiset
Hugh de Puiset
Hugh de Puiset was a medieval Bishop of Durham and Chief Justiciar of England under King Richard I. He was the nephew of King Stephen of England and Henry of Blois, who both assisted Hugh's ecclesiastical career...
, then treasurer of York and later Bishop of Durham, and by Robert of Ghent
Robert of Ghent
Robert of Ghent or Robert de Gant was the fourteenth and seventeenth Lord Chancellor and Lord Keeper of England, from 1140 to 1141, and from 1142 to 1154. He was also Dean of York. He was the uncle of Gilbert de Gant, Earl of Lincoln.-References:...
, who was Dean of York
Dean of York
The Dean of York is the member of the clergy who is responsible for the running of the York Minster cathedral.-11th–12th centuries:* 1093–c.1135: Hugh* c.1138–1143: William of Sainte-Barbe...
and Lord 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...
of England, as well as by King Stephen of England. Hilary seems to have received the largest number of votes, but because the election was disputed by Murdac's supporters the result was referred to the papacy, and Eugene chose Murdac. Hilary was appointed to Chichester in July 1147, and he was consecrated on 3 August 1147. 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, consecrated him at Canterbury, with Nigel, the 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...
, Robert
Robert of Bath
Robert or sometimes Robert of Lewes was a medieval English Bishop of Bath.-Life:Robert was a native of England, but his ancestry was Flemish, probably of noble birth. His birthdate and when he became a monk are not known. He was a Cluniac and a monk of Lewes Priory and a protege of Henry of Blois...
, the Bishop of Bath
Bishop of Bath and Wells
The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England.The present diocese covers the vast majority of the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew in...
, 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...
, assisting in the ceremony. For a number of years, Hilary continued to hold the deanship in plurality
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:...
, which is the holding of two ecclesiastical benefices at once.
Stephen's reign
King Stephen sent Hilary to attend a church councilCouncil of Reims (1148)
In 1148, a Council of Reims was called by Pope Eugene III to consider a number of regulations, or canons, for the Church, as well as to debate some other issues. Originally the summons for the council went out in October 1147 and it was supposed to be held in Trier, which is now in Germany, but...
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 along with Robert de Bethune
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...
, who was the 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 William de Turbeville. Theobald of Bec was also present, even though the king had forbidden him to attend. The medieval chronicler Gervase of Canterbury
Gervase of Canterbury
Gervase of Canterbury was an English chronicler.- Life :...
stated that Stephen wanted to weaken Theobald's standing with the papacy, but Stephen also would have wished to assert his authority over the English Church by insisting on the right to limit papal contact with the English bishops, something that his predecessors had always done.
Hilary attempted to excuse the king's attempt to exclude Theobald from the council, which appears to be the main reason why Stephen allowed Hilary to attend. Hilary was rewarded for his loyalty by being named a queen's chaplain. Soon after the council, Robert de Bethune died and Gilbert Foliot
Gilbert Foliot
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...
was elected to the see 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....
, at the direction of the pope. Theobald was in exile 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...
because he had defied the king, so the pope ordered Robert de Sigello
Robert de Sigello
Robert de Sigello was a medieval Bishop of London and Lord Chancellor of England.-Life:Robert was keeper of the king's seal, usually known as Lord Chancellor from 1133 to 1135...
, the 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...
, Josceline de Bohon
Josceline de Bohon
Josceline de Bohon was an English religious leader.-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 Hilary, to go to Flanders to help Theobald consecrate Gilbert. However, the three bishops were reluctant, and told the pope that because Gilbert had not received the royal assent, nor had he sworn fealty to Stephen, they would not consecrate him. Theobald then consecrated Gilbert with the help of some continental bishops. Hilary was one of the bishops who made peace between Theobald and Stephen after the council at Reims, helping in the negotiations after Theobald's return to England. Theobald settled himself at Hugh Bigod
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...
's castle of Framlingham
Framlingham
Framlingham is a market town and civil parish in the Suffolk Coastal District of Suffolk, England. Commonly referred to as "Fram" by the locals, it is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. It has a population of 3,114 at the 2001 census...
; negotiations between the royal party and the archbishop's party resulted in the king yielding, and in the restoration of the archbishop to his lands.
Struggle with Battle Abbey
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
, and its status as an eigenkirche
Proprietary church
During the Middle Ages, the proprietary church was a church, abbey or cloister built on private ground by a feudal lord, over which he retained proprietary interests, especially the right of what in English law is "advowson", that of nominating the ecclesiastic personnel...
, or proprietary church of the king. Under King Stephen, the abbey's claims prevailed, but after Stephen's death Hilary excommunicated the abbot, who appealed to the papacy. The appeal backfired however, as Hilary obtained from both Pope Eugenius III and Pope Hadrian IV orders for the abbot to obey the bishop. In 1157, the then Abbot of Battle
Abbot of Battle
Abbot of Battle was the title given to the abbot of Battle Abbey in Sussex, England. The abbey was founded in 1067 by William the Conqueror and the first abbot was Robert Blanchard, who drowned soon after his appointment. The following table gives the abbots from the founding of the abbey until...
, Walter de Lucy
Walter de Lucy
Walter de Luci , Abbot of Battle Abbey, was the brother of Richard de Luci, who was Chief Justiciar of England.-Biography:...
, brother of Richard de Luci
Richard de Luci
Richard de Luci was first noted as Sheriff of the County of Essex, then he was made Chief Justiciar of England.- Biography :His wife Rohese, who is named in several documents, was a sister of Faramus of Boulogne...
the Chief Justiciar
Justiciar
In medieval England and Ireland the Chief Justiciar was roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister as the monarch's chief minister. Similar positions existed on the Continent, particularly in Norman Italy. The term is the English form of the medieval Latin justiciarius or justitiarius In...
, took the case before King Henry II, at a council held at Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
.
At the council, Walter de Lucy produced William I's foundation charter and the confirmation by King Henry I of England
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...
, Henry II's grandfather. Both documents were admitted as genuine, and as freeing the abbey from ecclesiastical oversight, as Henry II had at his coronation confirmed all his grandfather's charters. Modern scholarship has shown, however, that at least one of the documents had been recently forged, shortly before 1155. Hilary argued that only a papal privilege could exempt a monastery from episcopal oversight, and that the abbey had no such privilege. Hilary argued that no king could grant such an exemption, unless they had a licence from the papacy. Henry was unimpressed by this argument, for it impinged on his royal prerogative. Thomas Becket, then Henry's chancellor but later to be famous for his dispute with Henry over ecclesiastical privileges, was one of Hilary's chief opponents at this council. Eventually, the case was decided by persuading Hilary to renounce any episcopal claims on the abbey.
Henry II's biographer, the historian W. L. Warren, suggests that Hilary was pressed to bring the case against Battle Abbey by his 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...
, and that Hilary did not pursue the case vigorously. The historian Henry Mayr-Harting
Henry Mayr-Harting
Professor Henry Maria Robert Egmont Mayr-Harting was Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History in the University of Oxford and Lay Canon of Christ Church, Oxford from 1997 until 2003....
, sees the case against the abbey as the lone exception in Hilary's long career of support for the royal position against the papacy, and argues that the only reason Hilary opposed the king in this respect was that it was Hilary's own rights as a diocesan bishop that were being flouted. Mayr-Harting also suggests that Theobald of Bec was supporting Hilary's efforts to assert Chichester's rights.
The historian Nicholas Vincent argues that the entire basis of this account, which ultimately rests on the Chronicle of Battle Abbey, is part of the forgeries produced by the Battle monks. He argues that the only documentary evidence detailing course of the legal battle besides the Chronicle is a forged charter of Henry II to the abbey and a letter of Theobald's that itself may be forged, as it repeats the story of the Chronicle almost word for word. Vincent's point is that although there was no doubt a dispute between Hilary and the abbey over a claimed exemption, as evidenced by a 1170 letter of Becket's referring to some sort of settlement between the monks and the bishop, the actual account in the Chronicle is untrustworthy. Unfortunately, the 1170 letter does not give any details of the dispute, merely stating that the bishop was "forced to make public peace with the abbot".
Henry II's reign
High Sheriff of Sussex
-History:The office of High Sheriff is over 1000 years old, with its establishment before the Norman Conquest. The Office of High Sheriff remained first in precedence in the counties until the reign of Edward VII when an Order in Council in 1908 gave the Lord-Lieutenant the prime office under the...
in 1155, and then again in 1160 through 1162. It was very unusual for a bishop to hold the post of sheriff, and was a measure of the trust that King Henry II had in Hilary. Hilary was the only bishop to hold the office of sheriff during Henry's reign, with the possible exception 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...
, the 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...
. An English church council in 1143 had forbidden clergy to hold office as stewards or tax gatherers for non-clergy. As the office of sheriff involved the gathering of the county farm, or income from the county, and the payment of those revenues into the Exchequer
Exchequer
The Exchequer is a government department of the United Kingdom responsible for the management and collection of taxation and other government revenues. The historical Exchequer developed judicial roles...
, clergy holding office as sheriffs would have been acting against the decrees of the 1143 council. Hilary was well known as a canon lawyer, and was often employed by the papacy as a judge-delegate, hearing cases that had been appealed to Rome, and then sent back to the country of origin for trial. He also assisted other papal judges, including Theobald of Bec. Hilary served in England as a royal justice in 1156, and then was with the king in Normandy from late 1156 to April 1157. Hilary acted as judge-delegate for the papacy in at least 15 cases during his bishopric. He acted as a legal advisor to Henry II on a number of occasions, and Hilary's clerks occasionally drew up documents for the king.
Hilary created the offices of treasurer and chancellor of the diocese of Chichester, in order to regulate and improve the finances of the cathedral chapter and the diocese. He also was involved in the canonization of Edward the Confessor, writing a letter 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:...
in favour of Edward's sainthood, and was one of the three bishops who announced the canonization at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
and celebrated a mass in honour of the new saint. The other bishops were Robert de Chesney and Nigel, Bishop of Ely.
In May 1162, Hilary was part of the deputation sent to the monks of Christ Church Priory
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....
by King Henry II to secure the election of Thomas Becket as the next Archbishop of Canterbury. When Gilbert Foliot, the Bishop of Hereford, objected to Becket's candidacy, Hilary took the position that the king desired the election, so the bishops and electors should elect the king's choice. When it was suggested that a monk should hold Canterbury, as had been the custom previously, Hilary asked if the questioners thought that only one way of life was satisfactory to God.
The next year, a council held at Westminster became one of the early stages in the king's growing quarrel
Becket controversy
The Becket controversy or Becket dispute was the quarrel between Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and King Henry II of England, from 1163 to 1173...
with Becket over criminal clerks. The quarrel was sparked by the problem of clergy who committed crimes; Becket supported the Church's position that all clergy, even those in minor orders, could be tried only in ecclesiastical courts. As perhaps as many as a fifth of the population of England may have been in some form of clerical orders
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
, including the minor ones
Minor orders
The minor orders are the lowest ranks in the Christian clergy. The most recognized minor orders are porter, lector, exorcist, and acolyte. In the Latin rite Catholic Church, the minor orders were in most cases replaced by "instituted" ministries of lector and acolyte, though communities that use...
, allowing this would have diminished the king's authority. In the past, English law had tried clerks who committed serious offences in the royal courts, but recent changes in canon law were changing this practice. At Westminster, Henry tried to get the leading laymen and bishops to swear to uphold the old customs of England, instead of the newer canon law practices. All the bishops swore, with the reservation that the customs were not in conflict with canon law. Hilary, however, added no qualifiers to his oath. Although the oath supported Becket's position, after the council most of the bishops, including Hilary, were persuaded by the king to support some compromise position, and threw their support behind Henry.
After the Council of Westminster, Hilary supported the king throughout the Becket dispute, and one factor in his royalist position may have been that Hilary remembered who had opposed his case against Battle Abbey, and thus refused to support the archbishop. Towards the end of 1163, Henry sent Hilary on an embassy to Becket, to persuade the archbishop to modify his position, but Becket was unmoved. Hilary also took part in the king's embassy in 1164 to Pope Alexander III and King Louis VII of France
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...
, which attempted to persuade the pope and the king of France to favour King Henry instead of Becket, and to keep Becket from finding a haven in France during his exile.
Death and legacy
Hilary died in July 1169, probably on 13 July. The historian David Knowles described Hilary as "an extremely quick-witted, efficient, self-confident, voluble, somewhat shallow man, fully acquainted with the new canon law but not prepared to abide by principles to the end. His talents were great but he used them as an opportunist." In Hilary's favour, he was heavily involved in providing livings for the vicarVicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
s who resided at the parish churches and performed the actual cure of souls
Cure of souls
In some denominations of Christianity, the cure of souls , an archaic translation which is better rendered today as "care of souls," is the exercise by a priest of his office. This typically embraces instruction, by sermons and admonitions, and administration of sacraments, to the congregation...
, or pastoral duties, in his diocese. He was also a benefactor of libraries, and worked hard to recover lands once belonging to his church but lost in the years of Stephen's reign
The Anarchy
The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter was a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen, which was characterised by civil war and unsettled government...
. He also promoted clerical reform in his diocese, working to change many of the churches that had chapters of secular clergy into churches with chapters of Augustinian
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
canons. Hilary secured the consent of his cathedral chapter for any grants of lands, even those that he had acquired personally. Thirty-five documents survive from his bishopric, but few of them can be attributed to a specific date. One is his profession of obedience to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the others are a mix of charters, judgements made by Hilary, and confirmations of rights and privileges.
Hilary's clerks were trained in administration, and one of them, his nephew Jocelin, was named chancellor of Chichester Cathedral
Chichester Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, otherwise called Chichester Cathedral, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in Sussex, England...
by his uncle. Jocelin later became Archdeacon of Lewes, and a royal judge. A number of Hilary's clerks served with Thomas Becket for a time, most of them after leaving Hilary's service.