John of Avranches was
bishop of Avranches
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Coutances (–Avranches) (Latin: ''Dioecesis Constantiensis (–Abrincensis)''; French: ''Diocèse de Coutances (–Avranches)'') is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Its mother church is the Cathe ...
from 1060 to 1067, and
archbishop of Rouen
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rothomagensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Rouen'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the Ar ...
from 1067 to 1079. He was a
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
churchman, son of
Rodulf of Ivry Rodulf of Ivry (Rodolf, Raoul, comte d'Ivry) (died c. 1015) was a Norman noble, and regent of Normandy during the minority of Richard II.
Life
Rodolf was the son of Eperleng, a rich owner of several mills at Vaudreuil, and of his wife Sprota, wh ...
, and brother of
Hugh of Bayeux. He appears in the ''
Gesta Normannorum Ducum
''Gesta Normannorum Ducum'' (''Deeds of the Norman Dukes'') is a chronicle originally created by the monk William of Jumièges just before 1060. In 1070 William I had William of Jumièges extend the work to detail his rights to the throne of Engl ...
'' of
William of Jumièges
William of Jumièges (born c. 1000 - died after 1070) (french: Guillaume de Jumièges) was a contemporary of the events of 1066, and one of the earliest writers on the subject of the Norman conquest of England. He is himself a shadowy figure, only ...
, and may have been one of the sources William used.
He became
archbishop of Rouen
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rothomagensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Rouen'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the Ar ...
when his friend
Lanfranc
Lanfranc, OSB (1005 1010 – 24 May 1089) was a celebrated Italian jurist who renounced his career to become a Benedictine monk at Bec in Normandy. He served successively as prior of Bec Abbey and abbot of St Stephen in Normandy and then ...
declined the position. As archbishop he was a reformer, campaigning for
clerical celibacy
Clerical celibacy is the requirement in certain religions that some or all members of the clergy be unmarried. Clerical celibacy also requires abstention from deliberately indulging in sexual thoughts and behavior outside of marriage, because the ...
from 1074. This led to his being stoned at a provincial synod. In 1075 he with
Roger de Beaumont
Roger de Beaumont (c. 1015 – 29 November 1094), feudal lord (French: ''seigneur'') of Beaumont-le-Roger and of Pont-Audemer in Normandy, was a powerful Norman nobleman and close advisor to William the Conqueror.
−
Origins
Roger wa ...
was in effective charge of Normandy.
He is known for his
liturgical
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
work ''Tractatus de officiis ecclesiasticis''; it was officially adopted in the
diocese of Rouen
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rothomagensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Rouen'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the Ar ...
. It was written at the request of
Maurilius
Maurilius (–1067) was a Norman Archbishop of Rouen from 1055 to 1067.
Maurilius was originally from Reims, and was born about 1000. He trained as a priest at Liege and became a member of the cathedral chapter of Halberstadt.Douglas ''William ...
, his predecessor as archbishop; it had only a limited impact in promoting uniformity in Normandy.
[Cassandra Potts, ''When the Saints Go Marching: Religious Connections and the Political Culture of Early Normandy'' p. 17 in Charles Warren Hollister (editor), ''Anglo-Norman Political Culture and the Twelfth-century Renaissance'' (1997).]
References
* R. Delamare (editor) (1923), ''Le 'De officiis ecclesiasticis' de Jean d'Avranches, archevêque de Rouen (1067–1079)''
* Richard Allen, « 'A proud and headstrong man': John of Ivry, bishop of Avranches and archbishop of Rouen, 1060–79 », ''Historical Research'', vol.83, n° 220 (mai 2010), p. 189-227.
*
Notes
{{authority control
1079 deaths
11th-century Normans
Bishops of Avranches
Archbishops of Rouen
Year of birth unknown