Henri de Grandson was the son of Pierre I de Grandson and Agnes, a younger brother of the important friend and envoy of King

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassa ...

Otto de Grandson Otto de Grandson (c. 1238–1328), sometimes numbered Otto I to distinguish him from later members of his family with the same name, was the most prominent of the Savoyard knights in the service of King Edward I of England, to whom he was the cl ...

. Like his cousin

Guillaume de Champvent William of Champvent or Guillaume de Champvent (c.1239 – 21 March 1301) was the son of Henri, Lord of Champvent, brother of Othon de Champvent and Pierre de Champvent, cousin of Otto de Grandson. He followed Peter II, Count of Savoy to England a ...

and relative

Gérard of Vuippens Gérard (French: ) is a French masculine given name and surname of Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constitue ...

he pursued a church and diplomatic career in England before becoming taking up an important bishopric within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. He crossed the channel with his brother, Edward having granted two years protection on 26 May 1276. Henri travelled to the far north of Edward's realm to take up a position as parson of the church in Greystoke,then in the county of Cumberland. The church at

Greystoke, Cumbria Greystoke is a village and civil parish on the edge of the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England, about west of Penrith. At the 2001 census the parish had a population of 642, increasing marginally to 654 at the 2011 Census. The vil ...

had been recently built in 1255, some features from Henri's time remain still. The rood beam bridging the chancel arch is oldest item in the Church, and carries floral emblems representing the wounds of Christ.The ancient choir stalls in the chancel have some well preserved misericords (carved shelf underneath the seat). In 1278 Henri moved south once more to take up the role of

Bishop of Verdun The Bishopric of Verdun was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was located at the western edge of the Empire and was bordered by France, the Duchy of Luxembourg, and the Duchy of Bar. Some time in the late 990s, the suzerainty of the County o ...

, from his recently deceased brother,

Gerard de Grandson Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this ca ...

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

then not yet in France but a prestigious Prince Bishopric within the

.Girart Dorens. 1909. Sir Otho de Grandison 1238?-1328. Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 3: 128.

References

{{France-RC-bishop-stub Savoyards in Thirteenth Century England 13th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Holy Roman Empire People from Greystoke, Cumbria People from Verdun