Ralph d'Escures
Encyclopedia
Ralph also known as Ralph d'Escures from the family estate Escures, near Sées
in Normandy
, was a medieval Abbot of Séez, Bishop of Rochester
and then Archbishop of Canterbury
. He studied at the school at the Abbey of Bec
. In 1079 he entered the abbey
of St Martin at Séez, and became abbot
there in 1091. He was a friend of both Anselm of Canterbury
and Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester
, whose see
, or bishopric, he took over on Gundulf's death.
Ralph was not chosen archbishop of Canterbury by the chapter of Canterbury alone. His election involved an assembly of the lords and bishops meeting with King Henry I of England
. Ralph then received his pallium
from Pope Paschal II
, rather than travelling to Rome to retrieve it. As archbishop, Ralph was very assertive of the rights of the see of Canterbury
and of the liberties of the English church. He claimed authority in Wales
and Scotland. Ralph also quarreled for a time with Pope Paschal II.
Ralph suffered a stroke on 11 July 1119 and was left partially paralysed and unable to speak clearly from that time until his death on 20 October 1122. A surviving English translation of a sermon delivered by Ralph is preserved in a manuscript in the British Library. The sermon survives in some fifty Latin manuscripts.
, Bishop of Chichester
from 1125 to 1145. The surname of de Turbine, by which he is sometimes known in older scholarship, is only attested in the fourteenth century and possibly resulted from confusion with William de Corbeil
, Ralph's successor at Canterbury. Ralph studied at the school at the Abbey of Bec before entering the abbey of St Martin at Séez in 1079. St. Martin was a house founded by the Montgomery
and Bellême
families, and was still under their lordship. He became abbot of the house in 1091, and his election was attended by Anselm, abbot of Bec
.
, which was a daughter house of Séez. He may have been involved in the mediating the surrender of Robert of Bellême
at Shrewsbury
in 1102, for some chroniclers state that it was Ralph who delivered the keys of the castle to King Henry I of England. In 1103 he took refuge in England from the demands of Robert of Bellême for homage
. Ralph declined to do homage because Pope Urban II
had ordered that no clergy could do homage to the laity. Robert was also demanding heavy taxes, and Ralph fled with Serlo
, Bishop of Séez, who was also subjected to Robert's demands. He passed his time in England with his friends Saint Anselm and Gundulf the Bishop of Rochester. He attended the translation
of Saint Cuthbert
's remains at Durham
, where he was one of examiners of the body, and declared the saint's remains uncorrupt. In 1106 he visited Anselm at the Abbey of Bec, but probably did not try to assert himself at Séez. After Anselm was elected to the see of Canterbury, Ralph appears to have become part of the archbishop's household.
In June 1108 Ralph succeeded Gundulf as Bishop of Rochester, having been nominated by Gundulf before his death. Ralph was consecrated on 9 August 1108. He was at Anselm's deathbed in April 1109, and, afterwards, Ralph acted as administrator of the see of Canterbury until 26 April 1114, when he was chosen Archbishop at Windsor
. The king had wanted his doctor, Faricus
, who was an Italian and Abbot of Abingdon
, but the nobles and the bishops objected to anyone but a Norman
being appointed. The bishops also desired someone who was not a monk, or at least not one who was so close to Henry. As a compromise, Ralph was chosen, rather than the secular clergy
that the bishops favoured. Although Ralph was a monk and had not served as a royal clerk, he was also a bishop, which seems to have reconciled the other bishops to his selection.
who brought the pallium to England, along with letters from Paschal complaining that the English Church was translating bishops from see to see without papal permission, that legates
from the papacy were being refused entry to England and that the king was allowing no appeals to be made to the pope over ecclesiastical issues. In 1116 the pope even demanded the payment of Peter's Pence
, a payment direct to the papacy of a penny from every household in England. Ralph, when he took the pallium, professed "fidelity and canonical obedience" to the pope, but did not submit to the papal demands and, in fact, supported King Henry in opposing the pope's demands.
As archbishop Ralph championed the rights of the see of Canterbury and the English church. He claimed authority in Wales and Scotland, writing to the pope that "the church of Canterbury has not ceased to provide pastoral care for the whole of Britain and Ireland, both as a benevolence and from its rights of primacy." He advised the bishop of Llandaff
that a new Llandaff Cathedral
should be built and granted an indulgence
to contributors. He even refused to consecrate Thurstan
as Archbishop of York
because Thurstan would not profess obedience to the Archbishop of Canterbury, part of the Canterbury-York dispute
. At first, Ralph depended only on the king to demand Thurstan to submit, but later he appealed to the popes to force Thurstan to obey. His refusal brought him into a dispute with the papacy, for Pope Paschal II supported Thurstan. Ralph visited Rome in 1117, but was unable to obtain an interview with Paschal as the pope had fled the city in front of an invading imperial
army. Ralph had taken ill with an ulcer on his face during the trip to Rome and, for a time, it was feared that he would die. He recovered enough to continue on to Rome, however, although it was a fruitless trip. Despite instructions from Paschal’s successors, Gelasius II
and Calixtus II
, the archbishop continued to refuse to consecrate Thurstan, and Thurstan was still unconsecrated when Ralph died. Thurstan was eventually consecrated at Rheims
by Pope Calixtus II in May of 1119, although the issue of primacy remained unresolved.
Although he feuded with York over the primacy, it appears clear that Ralph considered the Investiture Crisis
settled in England for, in 1117 while visiting Rome, he took a neutral position as regards the issues between the Pope and the Emperor. In 1115, however, he refused to consecrate Bernard
as Bishop of St David's
in the royal chapel, although Robert of Meulan
, the king's chief counsellor, advocated that the consecration must take place in the royal chapel according to ancient custom. The king did not insist and Ralph won the confrontation. He was also involved in ecclesiastical affairs in Normanday, as he attended the provincial synod, or Council of Rouen, held in 1118.
on 11 July 1119 as he was removing his vestments after celebrating Mass. From then until his death, Ralph was partially paralysed and unable to speak clearly. He was still involved in decision making and, in 1120, he agreed to King Alexander I of Scotland
's suggestion that Eadmer
become the next Bishop of St Andrew's
. Ralph was one of the lords consulted about the remarriage of Henry I to Adeliza of Leuven at London in 1121. He also successfully asserted his right to celebrate the king's new marriage, over attempts by Roger of Salisbury
to officiate instead. Due to the damage from the stroke, Ralph was unable to perform the ceremony but, when Roger made an attempt to do so, Ralph successfully insisted on choosing the officiant and William Giffard
the Bishop of Winchester
performed the marriage. Ralph died on 20 October 1122, at Canterbury. He was buried in the nave of Canterbury Cathedral on 23 October 1122. His nephew, John
, was a clerk under Ralph, and later Ralph appointed him Archdeacon of Canterbury. After Ralph's death, John was elected to the see of Rochester.
Ralph was regarded as a "witty, easygoing" man. The struggle with York, however, along with his illnesses and the effects of the stroke, turned Ralph in his last years into a quarrelsome person. Orderic Vitalis
said that he was well educated and well loved by people. Even William of Malmesbury
, no lover of ecclesiastics and always ready to find fault with them, could only find fault with him for his occasional lapses into unbecoming frivolity.
Ralph wrote a sermon for the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin
and it survives in some fifty Latin
manuscripts, probably because it was thought to have been written by Anselm of Canterbury, until shown to be Ralph's in 1927. A surviving English translation of the sermon is also preserved in the manuscript British Library
, Cotton
Vespasian D. xiv. The Latin version, which Ralph was a translation of his originally spoken French version, has been edited and published in 1997. Ralph also had the monks of Christ Church, Canterbury
search for documents relating to the privileges of Canterbury and had those documents copied into a manuscript which still survives, BM MS Cotton Cleopatra E. His seal is one of the first to take the usual form for bishop's seals, with Ralph standing, in full vestments including a mitre
, and performing a benediction with his right hand while holding his crosier
in his left. The seal took the form of a pointed oval.
Sées
Sées is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.It lies on the Orne River from its source and north-by-northeast of Alençon.-Name:...
in 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:...
, was a medieval Abbot of Séez, Bishop of Rochester
Bishop of Rochester
The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers the west of the county of Kent and is centred in the city of Rochester where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin...
and then 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...
. He studied at the school at the Abbey of Bec
Bec Abbey
Bec Abbey in Le Bec Hellouin, Normandy, France, once the most influential abbey in the Anglo-Norman kingdom of the twelfth century, is a Benedictine monastic foundation in the Eure département, in the Bec valley midway between the cities of Rouen and Bernay.Like all abbeys, Bec maintained annals...
. In 1079 he entered the abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
of St Martin at Séez, and became 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...
there in 1091. He was a friend of both 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...
and Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester
Gundulf of Rochester
Gundulf was a Norman monk who came to England following the Conquest. He was appointed Bishop of Rochester and Prior of the Cathedral Priory there; built castles including Rochester, Colchester and the White Tower of the Tower of London and the Priory and Cathedral Church of...
, whose see
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
, or bishopric, he took over on Gundulf's death.
Ralph was not chosen archbishop of Canterbury by the chapter of Canterbury alone. His election involved an assembly of the lords and bishops meeting with 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...
. Ralph then received his pallium
Pallium
The pallium is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Roman Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the Pope, but for many centuries bestowed by him on metropolitans and primates as a symbol of the jurisdiction delegated to them by the Holy See. In that context it has always remained unambiguously...
from Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II , born Ranierius, was Pope from August 13, 1099, until his death. A monk of the Cluniac order, he was created cardinal priest of the Titulus S...
, rather than travelling to Rome to retrieve it. As archbishop, Ralph was very assertive of the rights of the see 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...
and of the liberties of the English church. He claimed authority in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and Scotland. Ralph also quarreled for a time with Pope Paschal II.
Ralph suffered a stroke on 11 July 1119 and was left partially paralysed and unable to speak clearly from that time until his death on 20 October 1122. A surviving English translation of a sermon delivered by Ralph is preserved in a manuscript in the British Library. The sermon survives in some fifty Latin manuscripts.
Early life
Ralph was the son of Seffrid d'Escures and his first wife Rascendis, and a half brother of Seffrid ISeffrid I
Seffrid I, sometimes known as Seffrid Pelochin, was a medieval Bishop of Chichester.-Life:Seffrid was the son of Seffrid d'Escures and Guimordis, and was a half brother to Ralph d'Escures, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1114 to 1122. He was a native of Escures, near Sées, and his father was a...
, Bishop of Chichester
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...
from 1125 to 1145. The surname of de Turbine, by which he is sometimes known in older scholarship, is only attested in the fourteenth century and possibly resulted from confusion with William de Corbeil
William de Corbeil
William de Corbeil or William of Corbeil was a medieval Archbishop of Canterbury. Very little is known of William's early life or his family, except that he was born at Corbeil in the outskirts of Paris and that he had two brothers...
, Ralph's successor at Canterbury. Ralph studied at the school at the Abbey of Bec before entering the abbey of St Martin at Séez in 1079. St. Martin was a house founded by the Montgomery
Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury
Roger de Montgomerie , also known as Roger the Great de Montgomery, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury. His father was also Roger de Montgomerie, and was a relative, probably a grandnephew, of the Duchess Gunnor, wife of Duke Richard I of Normandy...
and Bellême
William I Talvas
William I Talvas , seigneur of Alençon. He was a son of William of Bellême and Mathilde of Condé-sur-Noireau.He assumed the Bellême estates upon the murder of his brother Robert, by the Sor family in revenge for the deaths of their father and brothers...
families, and was still under their lordship. He became abbot of the house in 1091, and his election was attended by Anselm, abbot of Bec
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...
.
Time in England
Soon afterwards Ralph paid a visit to England, perhaps to visit Shrewsbury AbbeyShrewsbury Abbey
The Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Shrewsbury Abbey, was a Benedictine monastery founded in 1083 by the Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery, in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England.-Background:...
, which was a daughter house of Séez. He may have been involved in the mediating the surrender of Robert of Bellême
Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury
Robert de Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury , also spelled Belleme or Belesme, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, and one of the most prominent figures in the competition for the succession to England and Normandy between the sons of William the Conqueror...
at Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
in 1102, for some chroniclers state that it was Ralph who delivered the keys of the castle to King Henry I of England. In 1103 he took refuge in England from the demands of Robert of Bellême for homage
Homage (medieval)
Homage in the Middle Ages was the ceremony in which a feudal tenant or vassal pledged reverence and submission to his feudal lord, receiving in exchange the symbolic title to his new position . It was a symbolic acknowledgment to the lord that the vassal was, literally, his man . The oath known as...
. Ralph declined to do homage because Pope Urban II
Pope Urban II
Pope Urban II , born Otho de Lagery , was Pope from 12 March 1088 until his death on July 29 1099...
had ordered that no clergy could do homage to the laity. Robert was also demanding heavy taxes, and Ralph fled with Serlo
Serlo, Bishop of Sées
Serlo was the Bishop of Sées from 1091. He was imbued with the spirit of the Gregorian reform.According to Orderic Vitalis, Serlo was "the first of the Normans to offer his services to the king", that is, Henry I of England, after the latter's invasion of the Duchy of Normandy in 1105...
, Bishop of Séez, who was also subjected to Robert's demands. He passed his time in England with his friends Saint Anselm and Gundulf the Bishop of Rochester. He attended the translation
Translation (relics)
In Christianity, the translation of relics is the removal of holy objects from one locality to another ; usually only the movement of the remains of the saint's body would be treated so formally, with secondary relics such as items of clothing treated with less ceremony...
of Saint Cuthbert
Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
Saint Cuthbert was an Anglo-Saxon monk, bishop and hermit associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Northumbria, at that time including, in modern terms, northern England as well as south-eastern Scotland as far as the Firth of Forth...
's remains at Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
, where he was one of examiners of the body, and declared the saint's remains uncorrupt. In 1106 he visited Anselm at the Abbey of Bec, but probably did not try to assert himself at Séez. After Anselm was elected to the see of Canterbury, Ralph appears to have become part of the archbishop's household.
In June 1108 Ralph succeeded Gundulf as Bishop of Rochester, having been nominated by Gundulf before his death. Ralph was consecrated on 9 August 1108. He was at Anselm's deathbed in April 1109, and, afterwards, Ralph acted as administrator of the see of Canterbury until 26 April 1114, when he was chosen Archbishop at Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
. The king had wanted his doctor, Faricus
Faritius
Faricius was an Italian Benedictine Abbot of Abingdon and physician.-Life:Faricius was born in Arezzo, Tuscany, a Benedictine monk who became known as a skilful physician and man of letters. He was in England in 1078, when he witnessed the translation of the relics of St...
, who was an Italian and Abbot of Abingdon
Abbot of Abingdon
The following is a list of abbots of Abingdon. The Abbey of Abingdon was in northern Berkshire. The site is now in Oxfordshire.-Fictional abbots:Historian Susan E...
, but the nobles and the bishops objected to anyone but a Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
being appointed. The bishops also desired someone who was not a monk, or at least not one who was so close to Henry. As a compromise, Ralph was chosen, rather than the 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...
that the bishops favoured. Although Ralph was a monk and had not served as a royal clerk, he was also a bishop, which seems to have reconciled the other bishops to his selection.
Archbishop of Canterbury
It is noteworthy that, while Ralph was not chosen by the chapter of Canterbury alone, his election involved an assembly of the magnates and bishops meeting with the king. He was not selected solely by the king, nor solely by the bishops or chapter. Ralph received his pallium from the pope, rather than travelling to Rome to retrieve it. It was only with difficulty, however, that Pope Paschal II was persuaded to grant the pallium, as the papacy was attempting to again assert papal jurisdiction over the English Church. It was Anselm of St SabaAnselm of St Saba
Anselm was a medieval Bishop of London elect as well as Abbot of Bury St. Edmunds.-Life:Anselm was a nephew of Anselm of Canterbury and a monk of Chiusi. He was also abbot of Saint Saba monastery in Rome and a papal legate to England from 1115 to 1119. In 1121 he was elected Abbot of Bury St....
who brought the pallium to England, along with letters from Paschal complaining that the English Church was translating bishops from see to see without papal permission, that legates
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....
from the papacy were being refused entry to England and that the king was allowing no appeals to be made to the pope over ecclesiastical issues. In 1116 the pope even demanded the payment of Peter's Pence
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...
, a payment direct to the papacy of a penny from every household in England. Ralph, when he took the pallium, professed "fidelity and canonical obedience" to the pope, but did not submit to the papal demands and, in fact, supported King Henry in opposing the pope's demands.
As archbishop Ralph championed the rights of the see of Canterbury and the English church. He claimed authority in Wales and Scotland, writing to the pope that "the church of Canterbury has not ceased to provide pastoral care for the whole of Britain and Ireland, both as a benevolence and from its rights of primacy." He advised the bishop of Llandaff
Bishop of Llandaff
The Bishop of Llandaff is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff.-Area of authority:The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul , in the village of Llandaff, just north-west of the City of...
that a new Llandaff Cathedral
Llandaff Cathedral
Llandaff Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. It is situated in the district of Llandaff in the city of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The current building was constructed in the 12th century over the site of an earlier church...
should be built and granted an indulgence
Indulgence
In Catholic theology, an indulgence is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven. The indulgence is granted by the Catholic Church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution...
to contributors. He even refused to consecrate Thurstan
Thurstan
Thurstan or Turstin of Bayeux was a medieval Archbishop of York, the son of a priest. He served kings William II and Henry I of England before his election to the see of York in 1114. Once elected, his consecration was delayed for five years while he fought attempts by the Archbishop of Canterbury...
as 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...
because Thurstan would not profess obedience to the Archbishop of Canterbury, part of the Canterbury-York dispute
Canterbury-York dispute
The Canterbury–York dispute was a long-running conflict between the archdioceses of Canterbury and York in medieval England. It began shortly after the Norman Conquest of England and dragged on for many years. The main point of the dispute was over whether Canterbury would have jurisdiction, or...
. At first, Ralph depended only on the king to demand Thurstan to submit, but later he appealed to the popes to force Thurstan to obey. His refusal brought him into a dispute with the papacy, for Pope Paschal II supported Thurstan. Ralph visited Rome in 1117, but was unable to obtain an interview with Paschal as the pope had fled the city in front of an invading imperial
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
army. Ralph had taken ill with an ulcer on his face during the trip to Rome and, for a time, it was feared that he would die. He recovered enough to continue on to Rome, however, although it was a fruitless trip. Despite instructions from Paschal’s successors, Gelasius II
Pope Gelasius II
Pope Gelasius II , born Giovanni Caetani , was pope from January 24, 1118 to January 29, 1119.-Biography:He was born between 1060 and 1064 at Gaeta into the Pisan branch of the Caetani family....
and Calixtus II
Pope Callixtus II
Pope Calixtus II , born Guy de Vienne, the fourth son of William I, Count of Burgundy , was elected Pope on February 1, 1119, after the death of Pope Gelasius II . His pontificate was shaped by the Investiture Controversy, which he was able to settle through the Concordat of Worms...
, the archbishop continued to refuse to consecrate Thurstan, and Thurstan was still unconsecrated when Ralph died. Thurstan was eventually consecrated at Rheims
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....
by Pope Calixtus II in May of 1119, although the issue of primacy remained unresolved.
Although he feuded with York over the primacy, it appears clear that Ralph considered the Investiture Crisis
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was the most significant conflict between Church and state in medieval Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a series of Popes challenged the authority of European monarchies over control of appointments, or investitures, of church officials such...
settled in England for, in 1117 while visiting Rome, he took a neutral position as regards the issues between the Pope and the Emperor. In 1115, however, he refused to consecrate Bernard
Bernard, Bishop of St David's
Bernard was a Norman Bishop of St David's, appointed by Henry I. He also served as Chancellor to Queen Adeliza. He was the last bishop to dispute the primacy of the see of Canterbury. He founded Whitland Abbey....
as Bishop of St David's
Bishop of St David's
The Bishop of St David's is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St David's.The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the city of St David's in Pembrokeshire, founding St David's Cathedral. The current Bishop of St...
in the royal chapel, although Robert of Meulan
Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester, Count of Meulan was a powerful English and French nobleman, revered as one of the wisest men of his age...
, the king's chief counsellor, advocated that the consecration must take place in the royal chapel according to ancient custom. The king did not insist and Ralph won the confrontation. He was also involved in ecclesiastical affairs in Normanday, as he attended the provincial synod, or Council of Rouen, held in 1118.
Final years and legacy
Ralph suffered a strokeStroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
on 11 July 1119 as he was removing his vestments after celebrating Mass. From then until his death, Ralph was partially paralysed and unable to speak clearly. He was still involved in decision making and, in 1120, he agreed to King Alexander I of Scotland
Alexander I of Scotland
Alexander I , also called Alaxandair mac Maíl Coluim and nicknamed "The Fierce", was King of the Scots from 1107 to his death.-Life:...
's suggestion that Eadmer
Eadmer
Eadmer, or Edmer , was an English historian, theologian, and ecclesiastic. He is known for being a contemporary biographer of his contemporary archbishop and companion, Saint Anselm, in his Vita Anselmi, and for his Historia novorum in Anglia, which presents the public face of Anselm...
become the next Bishop of St Andrew's
Archbishop of St Andrews
The Bishop of St. Andrews was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews and then, as Archbishop of St Andrews , the Archdiocese of St Andrews.The name St Andrews is not the town or church's original name...
. Ralph was one of the lords consulted about the remarriage of Henry I to Adeliza of Leuven at London in 1121. He also successfully asserted his right to celebrate the king's new marriage, over attempts by 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:...
to officiate instead. Due to the damage from the stroke, Ralph was unable to perform the ceremony but, when Roger made an attempt to do so, Ralph successfully insisted on choosing the officiant and William Giffard
William Giffard
William Giffard was the Lord Chancellor of England of William II and Henry I, from 1093 to 1101.Giffard was the brother of Walter Giffard earl of Buckingham. He also held the office of Dean of Rouen prior to his election as bishop. On 3 August 1100 he became bishop of Winchester by nomination of...
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...
performed the marriage. Ralph died on 20 October 1122, at Canterbury. He was buried in the nave of Canterbury Cathedral on 23 October 1122. His nephew, John
John I, Bishop of Rochester
-Life:John was a nephew of Ralph d'Escures Archbishop of Canterbury, who he served as a clerk. He was appointed Archdeacon of Canterbury between 27 June 1115 and 16 September 1115....
, was a clerk under Ralph, and later Ralph appointed him Archdeacon of Canterbury. After Ralph's death, John was elected to the see of Rochester.
Ralph was regarded as a "witty, easygoing" man. The struggle with York, however, along with his illnesses and the effects of the stroke, turned Ralph in his last years into a quarrelsome person. Orderic Vitalis
Orderic Vitalis
Orderic Vitalis was an English chronicler of Norman ancestry who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th and 12th century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. The modern biographer of Henry I of England, C...
said that he was well educated and well loved by people. Even William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
, no lover of ecclesiastics and always ready to find fault with them, could only find fault with him for his occasional lapses into unbecoming frivolity.
Ralph wrote a sermon for the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin
Assumption of Mary
According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...
and it survives in some fifty Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
manuscripts, probably because it was thought to have been written by Anselm of Canterbury, until shown to be Ralph's in 1927. A surviving English translation of the sermon is also preserved in the manuscript British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
, Cotton
Cotton library
The Cotton or Cottonian library was collected privately by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton M.P. , an antiquarian and bibliophile, and was the basis of the British Library...
Vespasian D. xiv. The Latin version, which Ralph was a translation of his originally spoken French version, has been edited and published in 1997. Ralph also had the monks of Christ Church, Canterbury
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....
search for documents relating to the privileges of Canterbury and had those documents copied into a manuscript which still survives, BM MS Cotton Cleopatra E. His seal is one of the first to take the usual form for bishop's seals, with Ralph standing, in full vestments including a mitre
Mitre
The mitre , also spelled miter, is a type of headwear now known as the traditional, ceremonial head-dress of bishops and certain abbots in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in the Anglican Communion, some Lutheran churches, and also bishops and certain other clergy in the Eastern Orthodox...
, and performing a benediction with his right hand while holding his crosier
Crosier
A crosier is the stylized staff of office carried by high-ranking Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and some Lutheran and Pentecostal prelates...
in his left. The seal took the form of a pointed oval.