Gervase of Blois was the
Abbot of Westminster
The Abbot of Westminster was the head (abbot) of Westminster Abbey.
List
Notes
ReferencesTudorplace.com.ar
{Unreliable source?, certain=y, reason=self published website; and Jorge H. Castelli is not an expert, date=January 2015
Abbots of W ...
in England between 1138 and around 1157. Historically, Gervase has a bad reputation for mismanaging the abbey, although modern historians have re-evaluated his performance as abbot.
Biography
Gervase of Blois was the illegitimate son of
King Stephen and his mistress, Damette. His father ensured that he was appointed as the
Abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...
of
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
in the second half of 1138; the abbey would have hoped to receive additional royal funding as a result. Gervase was very young to be appointed abbot, but despite this probably attended the
Second Lateran Council
The Second Council of the Lateran was the tenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church. It was convened by Pope Innocent II in April 1139 and attended by close to a thousand clerics. Its immediate task was to neutralise the after-e ...
the following year. Working with the Prior
Osbert of Clare
Osbert of Clare (died in or after 1158) was a monk, elected prior of Westminster Abbey and briefly abbot. He was a prolific writer of letters, a hagiographer and a forger of charters.
Life
Osbert was born towards the end of the eleventh century a ...
, Gervase unsuccessfully attempted to have
King Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066.
Edward was the son of Æthe ...
canonized; the abbey held the remains of the king which would have brought in valuable pilgrims had he been canonised.
Pope Innocent II ordered Gervase to reform the estate management of the abbey; historians have disagreed over the years about whether the Pope was referring to long-standing issues of malpractice, or ones that had appeared during his term of office.
Pope Eugene III
Pope Eugene III ( la, Eugenius III; c. 1080 – 8 July 1153), born Bernardo Pignatelli, or possibly Paganelli, called Bernardo da Pisa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1145 to his death in 1153. He ...
appears to have thought Gervase a reasonable abbot, granting the abbey privileges in the 1140s, and Gervase got on well with his fellow senior clergy.
In 1154, however, Stephen died, being replaced by his former rival,
King Henry II, putting Gervase's position at risk. Gervase was accused by Henry of mishandling the abbey's estates and he was dismissed from post in 1157, albeit without trial, dying shortly afterwards. He was replaced by Master Laurence from
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
, a supporter of the new king.
[Barlow, p.277.]
Notes
Bibliography
* Barlow, Frank. (1970)
Edward the Confessor.' Berkeley: University of California Press.
* Mason, Emma. (1996)
Westminster Abbey and its people, c.1050-c.1216.' Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blois, Gervase of
Abbots of Westminster
Anglo-Normans
12th-century English people
12th-century Christian monks
Illegitimate children of English monarchs
Children of Stephen, King of England
Sons of kings