The Career of Geoffrey De Montbray, Bishop of Coutances (1048-1093) and Unus De Primatibus Anglorum (‘One of the Chief Men of the English’)
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The Career of Geoffrey de Montbray, Bishop of Coutances (1048-1093) and unus de primatibus Anglorum (‘one of the chief men of the English’) by Christopher Dennis Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy History & Welsh History, Cardiff University, 2012 i Summary Geoffrey de Montbray was one of the most important men in Normandy and England during the second half of the eleventh century. As bishop of Coutances, Geoffrey made a significant contribution to the restoration of ecclesiastical life in western Normandy. In post-Conquest England, where Geoffrey became a great landholder, he played a pivotal role in the consolidation of the Conqueror’s victory. Geoffrey’s role in the conquest and settlement of England, and in particular his association with warfare, has overshadowed his achievements as a diocesan bishop. In modern historiography he has been presented as an example of an old-fashioned type of bishop that was gradually being superseded in Normandy by more reform-minded prelates. This thesis will assess the validity of this interpretation by providing a detailed examination of his career. But it will also consider his activities as a diocesan bishop and his participation in the settlement of England in the context of the development of his personal relationship with the Conqueror. In particular, it will examine the significance of charismatic elements of lordship and the importance of acquiring ‘closeness’ to a ruler as a means of self-advancement. By approaching Geoffrey’s career from his perspective, the intention of this thesis is to gain a better understanding of the mindset of an eleventh-century Norman bishop. This thesis uses a range of sources that includes charters and narrative sources, architectural evidence, the evidence of Domesday Book, and manuscript sources. ii DECLARATION This work has not been submitted in substance for any other degree or award at this or any other university or place of learning, nor is being submitted concurrently in candidature for any degree or other award. Signed (candidate) Date STATEMENT 1 This thesis is being submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of (insert MCh, MD, MPhil, PhD etc, as appropriate) Signed (candidate) Date STATEMENT 2 This thesis is the result of my own independent work/investigation, except where otherwise stated. Other sources are acknowledged by explicit references. The views expressed are my own. Signed (candidate) Date STATEMENT 3 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed (candidate) Date STATEMENT 4: PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BAR ON ACCESS I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loans after expiry of a bar on access previously approved by the Academic Standards & Quality Committee. Signed (candidate) Date iii In loving memory of Margaret Julia Howard (1921-2002) iv Acknowledgements I would like thank Bill Aird for his guidance during the preparation of this thesis and for introducing me to William the Conqueror and Geoffrey de Montbray many years ago as a final year undergraduate. Bill’s knack of pointing out the wood when all I could see were the trees, his perceptive comments, and his attention to detail have greatly enhanced the quality of my work, and I am very grateful for his input. I would also like to thank Peter Edbury for his support, particularly in the final stages, and his unfailing interest in my work. Many members of staff in the History Department at Cardiff have offered words of encouragement over the years, and I would like to thank in particular Peter Coss, Helen Nicholson and Louis Rawlings. I owe special thanks to Dave Wyatt not only for his support but also for employing me as a tutor in the Centre for Lifelong Learning, a role which I thoroughly enjoyed. Another special thank you is due to Richard Marsden for his readiness to discuss PhD matters and for commenting on aspects of this work. I would also like to thank Richard and Joy Head for their hospitality on my overnight visits to Cardiff in recent years. This research was principally conducted in Cardiff University’s Arts & Social Studies Library, the British Library and the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris. I would like to acknowledge the help I received in each of these libraries, and in particular I would like to thank Victoria Stallard of Cardiff University for her help with library-related matters. Several research trips to France were funded in part through grants from the HISAR/SHARE Postgraduate Committee and the Royal Historical Society. I am very grateful for their financial assistance without which these trips would not have been possible. v My thanks are due to Richard Allen who kindly offered some very useful advice on working in French libraries and archives. I would also like to thank Richard for providing me with the text of the charter recording Geoffrey’s dedication of the church of Saint-Pierre de Marigny. Gilles Désiré Dit Gosset, archivist of the département de la Manche , generously provided me with a copy of Paul Le Cacheux’s transcripts of episcopal charters from Coutances (Archives de la Manche: 2 Mi 175 (R1)) for which I am very grateful. I would also like to thank Ann Williams for taking the time to send me a very detailed response to my queries regarding lordship and Domesday Book. Ian Dennis provided invaluable assistance with the presentation of figures 13-15 and 18-19; he also kindly produced figures 4, 12 and 21 from my drawings. All of the photographs featured in this work were taken by the author. Many friends and colleagues have contributed to the completion of this work through their words of encouragement and interest in the project. In particular, I would like to thank Madeleine Berry, Paul and Sabrina Goddard, Stan Houston, David Jackson, Ross McCarthy and Suzanne Walsh, Chris Pac-Soo, Diane Selley and Jeremy Wilcock. I could not have completed this work without the love and support of my parents, my brother James, and my sister-in-law Clare. Sadly, my grandmother was unable to witness the completion of my thesis. I’m sure she would have been very interested in Geoffrey’s exploits and very proud of the end product. It is to her memory that this work is dedicated. vi Contents Abbreviated References vii List of Maps and Illustrations x Introduction 1 Chapter 1: The Works of Canon John 26 Chapter 2: The Bishop of Coutances 57 Chapter 3: The Restoration of the Church of Coutances 86 Chapter 4: The Diocesan Bishop 114 Chapter 5: The Development of Episcopal Lordship, 1048-1066 145 Chapter 6: Unus de primatibus Anglorum 181 Chapter 7: The King’s Affairs 215 Chapter 8: The Conqueror’s Sons 239 Conclusion 267 Bibliography 271 vii Abbreviated References Ade Annales de ormandie AS (Proceedings of the Battle Conference on) Anglo-orman Studies Domesday Domesday Book. A Complete Translation , ed. Ann Williams and G. H. Martin (Alecto Historical Editions, London, 2002). DB Domesday Book , ed. John Morris, 38 vols. (Chichester, 1974-92). DS ‘De statu huius ecclesiæ ab anno 836 ad 1093’ in Gallia Christiana, in provincias ecclesiasticas distributa , vol. xi (Paris, 1759), ‘Instrumenta’, cols. 217-224. E-DB J. Palmer, F. Thorn, C. Thorn and N. Hodgson, Electronic Edition of Domesday Book: Translation, Databases and Scholarly Commentary, 1086 [computer file] (Colchester: UK Data Archive, University of Essex [distributor], 2007. SN 5694). Fauroux Recueil des actes des ducs de ormandie (911-1066) , ed. Marie Fauroux (Caen, 1961). Fontanel Le cartulaire du chapitre cathédral de Coutances , ed. Julie Fontanel (Saint-Lô, 2003). EHR English Historical Review GC, xi Gallia Christiana, in provincias ecclesiasticas distributa , vol. xi (Paris, 1759). HH Henry, Archdeacon of Huntingdon, Historia Anglorum , ed. and trans. Diana Greenway (Oxford, 1996). HSJ Haskins Society Journal JW , iii The Chronicle of John of Worcester , vol. iii, ed. and trans. P. McGurk (Oxford, 1998). JEH Journal of Ecclesiastical History viii Les évêques normands Les évêques normands du XI e siècle , ed. Pierre Bouet and François Neveux (Caen, 1995). Letters of Lanfranc The Letters of Lanfranc Archbishop of Canterbury , ed. and trans. Helen Clover and Margaret Gibson (Oxford, 1979). Mansi Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio , ed. J. D. Mansi, 31 vols. (Florence and Venice, 1759-98). ‘Miracula’ ‘Miracula ecclesiæ Constantiensis’ in E.-A. Pigeon, Histoire de la cathédrale de Coutances (Coutances, 1876), pp. 367-83. ODB Oxford Dictionary of ational Biography OV The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis , ed. and trans. Marjorie Chibnall, 6 vols. (Oxford, 1969-80). PL Patrologiae cursus completus, series Latina, ed. J.-P. Migne, 221 vols. (Paris, 1844-64). RAG Revue de l’Avranchin et du pays de Granville RdM Revue du département de la Manche Regesta Regesta Regum Anglo-ormannorum. The Acta of William I (1066-1087) , ed. David Bates (Oxford, 1998). RHGF Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France , ed. Martin Bouquet, new edition, ed. Léopold Delisle, 24 vols. (Paris, 1869-1904) . RRA Regesta Regum Anglo-ormannorum 1066- 1154. Volume I: Regesta Willelmi Conquestoris et Willelmi Rufi 1066-1100 , ed. H. W. C. Davis (Oxford, 1913); Volume II: Regesta Henrici Primi 1100-1135 , ed. Charles Johnson and H. A. Cronne (Oxford, 1956). Toustain de Billy René Toustain de Billy, Histoire ecclésiastique du diocèse de Coutances , ed. François Dolbet and A. Héron, 3 vols. ix (Rouen, 1874-86). TRE Tempore regis Edwardi Wace Wace, The Roman de Rou , trans. Glynn S. Burgess with the text of Anthony J. Holden and notes by Glynn S. Burgess and Elisabeth van Houts (St Helier, 2002).