DOCSLIB.ORG

Copyright by Christopher P. Hill 2008

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Copyright by Christopher P. Hill 2008 Copyright by Christopher P. Hill 2008 The Dissertation Committee for Christopher P. Hill Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Gilbert Foliot and the Two Swords: Law and Political Theory in Twelfth-Century England Committee: Janet Meisel, Supervisor Brian Levack Denise Spellberg Andrew Villalon Ernest Kaulbach Gilbert Foliot and the Two Swords: Law and Political Theory in Twelfth-Century England by Christopher P. Hill, BA.; MA. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2008 Acknowledgements My greatest thanks, of course, to Jan Meisel for her continual and long-term support, help, and friendship. Thanks also to Denise Spellberg and Andy Villalon for stepping up on such short notice and offering constructive advice and criticism. A very special thank you to Ernie Kaulbach, the finest Latinist at the University of Texas, whose unflagging help as I struggled with medieval language and canon law provided the foundation upon which I was able to construct the argument presented in this work. I’d also like to thank the staff at the Department of History, especially Judy Hogan and Marilyn Lehman, for helping to smooth over the inevitable rough spots in dealing with the administration. And finally, my deepest thanks to Brian Levack, whose friendship and determination always pushed me toward quality. I owe all of these people a very great deal. Whatever this study has achieved is largely due to their assistance. The faults are entirely my own. iv Gilbert Foliot and the Two Swords: Law and Political Theory in Twelfth-Century England Publication No._____________ Christopher P. Hill, PhD The University of Texas at Austin, 2008 Supervisor: Janet Meisel Over the last fifty years or so, historians have largely neglected Gilbert Foliot, the man who was Bishop of London during the 1160s and 1170s, as representative of any larger theoretical position, dismissing his famous polemic letter Multiplicem nobis as the product of envy and thwarted ambition. In this dissertation I argue that Gilbert Foliot was neither out of step with the attitudes of his contemporaries nor driven blindly by anger and envy. Rather, his position was the result of legal training combined with his experience as a cleric in the tumultuous years of twelfth century England. Foliot’s legal training inculcated in him a political theory stressing a bifurcated authority structure in which the clerical and lay “swords” would be drawn to complement one another, but were at the same time necessarily separate and independent. Thus he believed that the Church’s success in its goal of saving souls was reliant on the goodwill and protection of an effective and powerful king. During the Anarchy of King Stephen’s reign, Foliot urged his clerical brethren to unleash the sword of excommunication against barons who v committed crimes, and he was frustrated by the lack of coercive power he felt King Stephen ought to have exercised over the rebellious knights who terrorized the countryside. Later, during the reign of Henry II, Foliot feared that the archbishop’s new insistence on clerical superiority would limit the king’s lawful coercive power, while pushing the king to work against the Church rather than with it. Foliot, the jurist, found the archbishop’s argument not only ill-advised, but legally illegitimate and dangerous. Thus Foliot’s diatribe in Multiplicem should be understood not simply as a moment of anger, but as representative of a valid strain of thought in the English clergy, and that the attitude toward the crown on the part of churchmen was more dynamic than historians have recognized. vi Table of Contents CHAPTER ONE: PIETY AND POLITICS IN TWELFTH-CENTURY ENGLAND 1 1.1. Introduction ..............................................................................................1 CHAPTER TWO: FOLIOT IN SOURCE AND HISTORIOGRAPHY 9 2.1. Sources and Manuscript Tradition ...........................................................9 2.2. Foliot in Historiography .........................................................................13 2.3. The Two Swords Doctrine in Historiography ........................................28 CHAPTER THREE: MASTER OF SCHOOLS 40 3.1. Foliot’s Family and Schooling ...............................................................40 3.2. Foliot and Cluny ....................................................................................52 3.3. Foliot, Matilda, and the Second Lateran council ...................................59 CHAPTER FOUR: FOLIOT IN THE ANARCHY 68 4.1. Foliot at Gloucester ................................................................................68 4.2. The Case of Bishop Roger .....................................................................73 4.3. Foliot and War; The Spiritual Sword .....................................................80 4.4. Foliot’s Support for the Angevin Cause ................................................85 4.5. Strong, Legitimate Government; Foliot’s letter to Brian FitzCount ......92 4.6. Weakness in the Ecclesiastical Court Structure ...................................101 4.7. Piety and Friendship ............................................................................108 CHAPTER FIVE: TYING TOGETHER THE EARLY AND LATE - FOLIOT AS BISHOP 115 5.1. The Circumstances of Foliot’s Elevation .............................................115 5.2. The Aftermath of the Elevation, and the Relationship between Church and Monarchy ...........................................................................................126 5.3. The Working Relationship: Henry II and Theobald ............................133 vii 5.4. Becket and Humility ............................................................................138 5.5. Designs on The See of Canterbury ......................................................144 5.6. Foliot’s Translation to London ............................................................159 5.7. Tours, 1163, and the Primacy of London ............................................169 CHAPTER SIX : FOLIOT , THE TWO SWORDS AND THE CRISIS 174 6.1. The Deteriorating Relationship between Henry and the English Church174 6.2. The Lines of Authority become blurred...............................................176 6.3. Criminous Clerks and the Council at Westminster ..............................184 6.4. The Customs of the Realm: The Council of Clarendon .......................195 6.5. Becket as Criminous Clerk: The Council at Northampton ..................214 CHAPTER SEVEN : THE FINE LINE 233 7.1. Crafting the Relationship with Henry ..................................................233 7.2. “Many things to us” .............................................................................242 Bibliography ........................................................................................................275 Vita .....................................................................................................................286 viii CHAPTER ONE: PIETY AND POLITICS IN TWELFTH- CENTURY ENGLAND 1.1. INTRODUCTION Considering the importance of the Church as a driving force in twelfth- century political history, the complex relationship between piety and Church involvement in lay politics during this time period remains surprisingly under-explored. The natural assumption is that pious clerics, with a few notable exceptions, feared the encroachment of lay authority as economic and political structures began to grow in sophistication during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Lay control could easily lead to the diminution of ecclesiastical liberties that had been gradually increasing since the founding of Cluny in 910. The Church, therefore, had no reason to support the growth of secular authority, and worked, as a body, to undermine any increase in lay authority that threatened, even potentially, Church autonomy. For its part, the increasingly powerful lay leaders resented Church interference in secular matters, and continually attempted to exert authority over the Church in a variety of ways, from investing bishops to naming popes to trying clerics in royal courts. This was more or less Tellenbach’s analysis of the Investiture Conflict, and following him many historians have assumed that the fanatical piety of Gregory VII and his resentment of imperial intervention underlay the relationship between Church and state from the eleventh century through the course of the twelfth, culminating in several peaks: Boniface VIII’s Unam sanctam , Innocent III’s interdict of England, and the famous showdown between 1 Henry II and his archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. 1 The line between Gregory and the later events in this narrative is a more or less straight one. This analysis, however, runs counter to a demonstrable concern among equally pious clerics that the growing power of the Church during the twelfth century might damage the Church through increasing worldliness, a trend that historians notice at other points in history. The movement toward religious poverty during the following century, for example, led by the mendicants, has drawn considerable interest. 2 As the Church continued to grow in secular power over the later Middle Ages, historians document increasing unrest among the pious right up to the Reformation, which was at least partially a reaction to the worldly behavior of the papacy
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Just As the Priests Have Their Wives”: Priests and Concubines in England, 1375-1549
    “JUST AS THE PRIESTS HAVE THEIR WIVES”: PRIESTS AND CONCUBINES IN ENGLAND, 1375-1549 Janelle Werner A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History. Chapel Hill 2009 Approved by: Advisor: Professor Judith M. Bennett Reader: Professor Stanley Chojnacki Reader: Professor Barbara J. Harris Reader: Cynthia B. Herrup Reader: Brett Whalen © 2009 Janelle Werner ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT JANELLE WERNER: “Just As the Priests Have Their Wives”: Priests and Concubines in England, 1375-1549 (Under the direction of Judith M. Bennett) This project – the first in-depth analysis of clerical concubinage in medieval England – examines cultural perceptions of clerical sexual misbehavior as well as the lived experiences of priests, concubines, and their children. Although much has been written on the imposition of priestly celibacy during the Gregorian Reform and on its rejection during the Reformation, the history of clerical concubinage between these two watersheds has remained largely unstudied. My analysis is based primarily on archival records from Hereford, a diocese in the West Midlands that incorporated both English- and Welsh-speaking parishes and combines the quantitative analysis of documentary evidence with a close reading of pastoral and popular literature. Drawing on an episcopal visitation from 1397, the act books of the consistory court, and bishops’ registers, I argue that clerical concubinage occurred as frequently in England as elsewhere in late medieval Europe and that priests and their concubines were, to some extent, socially and culturally accepted in late medieval England.
    [Show full text]
  • Boso's- Lfe of Alexdnder 111
    Boso's- Lfe of Alexdnder 111 Introduction by PETER MUNZ Translated by G. M. ELLIS (AG- OXFORD . BASIL BLACKWELL @ Basil Blackwell 1973 AI1 rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval System, or uansmitted, in any form or by. any. means, electronic, mechanical, photo- copying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permis- sion of Basil Blackwell & Mott Limited. ICBN o 631 14990 2 Library of Congress Catalog Card Num'cer: 72-96427 Printed in Great Britain by Western Printing Services Ltd, Bristol MONUMENTA GERilAANIAE I-' 11.2' I d8-:;c,-q-- Bibliothek Boso's history of Pope Alexander I11 (1159-1181) is the most re- markable Part of the Liber Pontificalis. Unlike almost all the other contributions, it is far more than an informative chronicle. It is a work of history in its own right and falsely described as a Life of Alexander 111. Boso's work is in fact a history of the Iong schism in the church brought about by the double election of I159 and perpet- uated until the Peace of Venice in I 177. It makes no claim to be a Life of Alexander because it not only says nothing about his career before his election but also purposely omits all those events and activities of his pontificate which do not strictly belong to the history of the schism. It ends with Alexander's return to Rome in 1176. Some historians have imagined that this ending was enforced by Boso's death which is supposed to have taken piace in 1178.~But there is no need for such a supposition.
    [Show full text]
  • The Reign of King Henry II of England, 1170-74: Three Minor Revisions
    Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 1-1-2001 The reign of King Henry II of England, 1170-74: Three minor revisions John Donald Hosler Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Recommended Citation Hosler, John Donald, "The reign of King Henry II of England, 1170-74: Three minor revisions" (2001). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 21277. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/21277 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Retrospective Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The reign of King Henry II of England, 1170-74: Three minor revisions by John Donald Hosler A thesis submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Major: History Major Professor: Kenneth G. Madison Iowa State University Ames~Iowa 2001 11 Graduate College Iowa State University This is to certify that the Master's thesis of John Donald Hosler has met the thesis requirements of Iowa State University Signatures have been redacted for privacy 111 The liberal arts had not disappeared, but the honours which ought to attend them were withheld Gerald ofWales, Topograhpia Cambria! (c.1187) IV TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE. INTRODUCTION 1 Overview: the Reign of Henry II of England 1 Henry's Conflict with Thomas Becket CHAPTER TWO.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tale of a Fish How Westminster Abbey Became a Royal Peculiar
    The Tale of a Fish How Westminster Abbey became a Royal Peculiar For Edric it had been a bad week’s fishing in the Thames for salmon and an even worse Sunday, a day on which he knew ought not to have been working but needs must. The wind and the rain howled across the river from the far banks of that dreadful and wild isle called Thorney with some justification. The little monastic church recently built on the orders of King Sebert stood forlornly waiting to be consecrated the next day by Bishop Mellitus, the first Bishop of London, who would be travelling west from the great Minster of St Paul’s in the City of London. As he drew in his empty nets and rowed to the southern bank he saw an old man dressed in strange and foreign clothing hailing him. Would Edric take him across even at this late hour to Thorney Island? Hopeful for some reward, Edric rowed across the river, moaning to the old man about the poor fishing he had suffered and received some sympathy as the old man seemed to have had some experience in the same trade. After the old man had alighted and entered the little church, suddenly the building was ablaze with dazzling lights and Edric heard chanting and singing and saw a ladder of angels leading from the sky to the ground. Edric was transfixed. Then there was silence and darkness. The old man returned and admonished Edric for fishing on a Sunday but said that if he caste his nets again the next day into the river his reward would be great.
    [Show full text]
  • News from Your Parish Church St Mary the Virgin, Marden & Amberley Chapel Rector: Rev
    Marden News & Views – October 2019 News from your Parish Church St Mary the Virgin, Marden & Amberley Chapel Rector: Rev. Paul Roberts (01568 797863) email: [email protected] Churchwardens: David Evans (01568 797644), Jess Tidball (01568 797227) (Amberley Hon. Churchwardens): Henry Netherway (01432 880884) Jo Erskine (01432 880821) O C MARDEN CHURCH T 6th Holy Communion ................. 11.15 am ................ Fr Bob Bates O B E MARDEN CHURCH th .......................................... 11.15 am ........Rev. Paul Roberts R 13 S FELTON CHURCH E 20th GROUP SERVICE - Harvest ............................... 10.00 am ..........Rev Paul Roberts R V AMBERLEY CHAPEL I 27th .......................................................................9.30 am ........ Rev. Alison Leigh C E S Harvest Flowers & Food Bank Donations On Saturday 12th we will be decorating the church for the Harvest Festival. Flower arrangers, please note that the oasis will be ready for you from 10 am onwards. If you need it earlier or delivered to your house, please contact Jess on 01568 797227 We will be giving any non-perishable foods gifted to Marden Church’s harvest festival to Herefordshire’s Food Banks & Community Larders. They always need: Tins: meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, custard & other puddings. Also tea, coffee, dried milk, sugar, cereals, biscuits and soap, toothpaste etc. We will be happy to take in any donations for the Harvest Food Bank Collection during that Saturday, so they can be displayed attractively. Our Harvest Festival family service is on Sunday 13th October at 11.15am. All Welcome. Marden Church - 200 Club DRAW 10th Annual Fun Dog Show Congratulations to our September winners: Thank you to everyone who came along and st 1 prize ------£15 ------- No.
    [Show full text]
  • Charters: What Survives?
    Banner 4-final.qxp_Layout 1 01/11/2016 09:29 Page 1 Charters: what survives? Charters are our main source for twelh- and thirteenth-century Scotland. Most surviving charters were written for monasteries, which had many properties and privileges and gained considerable expertise in preserving their charters. However, many collections were lost when monasteries declined aer the Reformation (1560) and their lands passed to lay lords. Only 27% of Scottish charters from 1100–1250 survive as original single sheets of parchment; even fewer still have their seal attached. e remaining 73% exist only as later copies. Survival of charter collectionS (relating to 1100–1250) GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD from inStitutionS founded by 1250 Our picture of documents in this period is geographically distorted. Some regions have no institutions with surviving charter collections, even as copies (like Galloway). Others had few if any monasteries, and so lacked large charter collections in the first place (like Caithness). Others are relatively well represented (like Fife). Survives Lost or unknown number of Surviving charterS CHRONOLOGICAL SPREAD (by earliest possible decade of creation) 400 Despite losses, the surviving documents point to a gradual increase Copies Originals in their use in the twelh century. 300 200 100 0 109 0s 110 0s 111 0s 112 0s 113 0s 114 0s 115 0s 116 0s 1170s 118 0s 119 0s 120 0s 121 0s 122 0s 123 0s 124 0s TYPES OF DONOR typeS of donor – Example of Melrose Abbey’s Charters It was common for monasteries to seek charters from those in Lay Lords Kings positions of authority in the kingdom: lay lords, kings and bishops.
    [Show full text]
  • VWR Circulators and Chillers
    VWR Circulators and Chillers Superior Temperature Control Equipment Clockwise from top left: 13721-200, 13721-172, 13721-138, 13721-082 Controllers Table of Contents. Page Product Features. 2-3 Precise Controllers Controllers . 4-5 Choice of four controllers. From state-of-the-art program- VWR Signature` mable designs that provide Refrigerated/Heating ultimate control, to the analog Circulating Baths. 6-10 design that is perfect for less demanding applications. How To Choose A Chiller . 11 VWR Signature Recirculating Chillers . 12-13 VWR Signature Heating Immersion Circulator. 14 Durable Design VWR` Open Bath Systems . 15 Immersed parts and reservoirs are made of corrosion-fighting VWR Signature stainless steel. The exterior Heating Circulating Baths . 16-17 surface is a tough powder coating for easy clean-up. VWR Refrigerated/Heating Circulating Baths. 18-21 VWR Immersion & Flow-Through Coolers . 22 VWR Ambient Bath Cooler. 22 Double Safety VWR Heating Recirculator . 22 Your equipment and work are protected with redundant over VWR Heating Immersion Circulators . 23 temperature and low liquid cutoff standard on all circula- VWR Heating Circulating Baths . 24-25 tors. 60Hz models are CSA approved, 50Hz models carry Accessories . 26 the CE mark. At-a-Glance Chart . 27 Environmentally Responsible VWR Refrigerated Circulators and Chillers use R-134a refrigerant, and no ozone- depleting CFC’s are used in the manufacturing process. All instruments are manufactured in an ISO 9001 accredited facility. 2 To order, call 1-800-932-5000 or visit vwr.com Controllers Time Savers Advanced refrigeration sys- tems and high wattage heaters respond quickly to temperature changes. You'll have minimum waiting time for your circulator to stabilize.
    [Show full text]
  • Lambeth Palace Library Research Guide Biographical Sources for Archbishops of Canterbury from 1052 to the Present Day
    Lambeth Palace Library Research Guide Biographical Sources for Archbishops of Canterbury from 1052 to the Present Day 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 3 2 Abbreviations Used ....................................................................................................... 4 3 Archbishops of Canterbury 1052- .................................................................................. 5 Stigand (1052-70) .............................................................................................................. 5 Lanfranc (1070-89) ............................................................................................................ 5 Anselm (1093-1109) .......................................................................................................... 5 Ralph d’Escures (1114-22) ................................................................................................ 5 William de Corbeil (1123-36) ............................................................................................. 5 Theobold of Bec (1139-61) ................................................................................................ 5 Thomas Becket (1162-70) ................................................................................................. 6 Richard of Dover (1174-84) ............................................................................................... 6 Baldwin (1184-90) ............................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Shell Keeps at Carmarthen Castle and Berkeley Castle
    Fig. 1. A bird's-eye view of Windsor Castle in 1658, by Wenceslaus Hollar (detail). Within the shell-keep are 14th century ranges. From the University of Toronto Wenceslaus Hollar Digital Collection. Reproduced with thanks. Shell-keeps revisited: the bailey on the motte? Robert Higham, BA, PhD, FSA, FRHistS Honorary Fellow, University of Exeter Dedicated to Jo Cox and John Thorp, who revived my interest in this subject at Berkeley Castle Design and illustrations assembled by Neil Guy Published by the Castle Studies Group. © Text: Robert Higham Shell-keeps re-visited: the bailey on the motte? 1 Revision 19 - 05/11/2015 Fig. 2. Lincoln Castle, Lucy Tower, following recent refurbishment. Image: Neil Guy. Abstract Scholarly attention was first paid to the sorts of castle ● that multi-lobed towers built on motte-tops discussed here in the later 18th century. The “shell- should be seen as a separate form; that truly keep” as a particular category has been accepted in circular forms (not on mottes) should be seen as a academic discussion since its promotion as a medieval separate form; design by G.T. Clark in the later 19th century. Major ● that the term “shell-keep” should be reserved for works on castles by Ella Armitage and A. Hamilton mottes with structures built against or integrated Thompson (both in 1912) made interesting observa- with their surrounding wall so as to leave an open, tions on shell-keeps. St John Hope published Windsor central space with inward-looking accommodation; Castle, which has a major example of the type, a year later (1913).
    [Show full text]
  • Thomas Becket
    Thomas Becket “Thomas a Becket” redirects here. For other uses, see Thomas a Becket (disambiguation). Thomas Becket (/ˈbɛkɪt/; also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London,[1] and later Thomas à Becket;[note 1] 21 December c. 1118 (or 1120) – 29 December 1170) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He engaged in conflict with Henry II of England over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral. Soon after his death, he was Stained glass window of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral canonised by Pope Alexander III. small landowner or a petty knight.[1] Matilda was also of 1 Sources Norman ancestry,[2] and her family may have originated near Caen. Gilbert was perhaps related to Theobald of Bec, whose family also was from Thierville. Gilbert be- The main sources for the life of Becket are a number gan his life as a merchant, perhaps as a textile merchant, of biographies that were written by contemporaries. A but by the 1120s he was living in London and was a prop- few of these documents are by unknown writers, al- erty owner, living on the rental income from his prop- though traditional historiography has given them names. erties. He also served as the sheriff of the city at some The known biographers are John of Salisbury, Edward point.[1] They were buried in Old St Paul’s Cathedral.
    [Show full text]
  • The Bretons and Normans of England 1066-1154: the Family, the Fief and the Feudal Monarchy*
    © K.S.B. Keats-Rohan 1991. Published Nottingham Mediaeval Studies 36 (1992), 42-78 The Bretons and Normans of England 1066-1154: the family, the fief and the feudal monarchy* In memoriam R.H.C.Davis 1. The Problem (i) the non-Norman Conquest Of all the available studies of the Norman Conquest none has been more than tangentially concerned with the fact, acknowledged by all, that the regional origin of those who participated in or benefited from that conquest was not exclusively Norman. The non-Norman element has generally been regarded as too small to warrant more than isolated comment. No more than a handful of Angevins and Poitevins remained to hold land in England from the new English king; only slightly greater was the number of Flemish mercenaries, while the presence of Germans and Danes can be counted in ones and twos. More striking is the existence of the fief of the count of Boulogne in eastern England. But it is the size of the Breton contingent that is generally agreed to be the most significant. Stenton devoted several illuminating pages of his English Feudalism to the Bretons, suggesting for them an importance which he was uncertain how to define.1 To be sure, isolated studies of these minority groups have appeared, such as that of George Beech on the Poitevins, or those of J.H.Round and more recently Michael Jones on the Bretons.2 But, invaluable as such studies undoubtedly are, they tend to achieve no more for their subjects than the status of feudal curiosities, because they detach their subjects from the wider question of just what was the nature of the post-1066 ruling class of which they formed an integral part.
    [Show full text]
  • St Thomas Becket and London, but Some Background Information May Be Helpful
    25 February 2020 Thomas Becket and London Professor Caroline barron Introduction This lecture is about St Thomas Becket and London, but some background information may be helpful. Thomas Becket was born in London in 1120, the son of Gilbert and Mathilda Becket whose families had come from Rouen in the wake of the Norman Conquest. Gilbert Becket was a rich and successful Londoner who seems to have made his money by owning and dealing in property. He lived in the small central parish of St Mary Colechurch on the north side of Cheapside. As yet there were no elected mayors of London (this privilege came by a royal charter in May 1215), but the city was allowed to elect its own sheriffs and Gilbert seems to have held this office in the 1130s. The Becket family fortunes were seriously affected by a fire (there were many such fires in early medieval London) which destroyed much of Gilbert’s property. In about 1140 young Thomas entered the employment of the sheriff, Osbert Huitdeniers (Eightpence) and became, in effect, a civil servant. He must have had a good education, possibly in one of the schools which we know existed in London at this time. From acting as a clerk to the sheriff, Thomas moved in 1143 to join the prestigious household of Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury (1138-1161). Although in minor clerical orders, Thomas enjoyed the ‘extravagant and ostentatious’ lifestyle of a successful young courtier and he attracted the attention of the king, Henry II who appointed him as his chancellor in 1155.
    [Show full text]