Richard fitz Samson, also known as Richard of Dover (french: Richard de Douvres), was the bishop of Bayeux (as Richard II) at the beginning of the 12th century.
Family
Richard was the son of
Samson of Worcester
Samson (died 5 May 1112) was a medieval English clergyman who was Bishop of Worcester from 1096 to 1112.
Life
Samson was a Royal Chaplain and a canon and Treasurer of the diocese of Bayeux.Bishop of Worcester (1096-1112), and nephew of
Thomas of Bayeux
Thomas of Bayeux (died 1100) was Archbishop of York from 1070 until 1100. He was educated at Liège and became a royal chaplain to Duke William of Normandy, who later became King William I of England. After the Norman Conquest, the king ...
,
Archbishop of York
The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...
(1070-1100). He was also the uncle of Richard de Gloucester, his successor in the bishopric of Bayeux.
Biography
Richard was grand vicar of Odo of Bayeux (brother of
William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
). Richard then succeeded Turold de Brémoy in the bishopric of Bayeux in 1107, appointed by King Henry I.M. Hermant, ''Histoire du diocèse de Bayeux, première partie contenant l'histoire des évêques'', Chez Pierre F. Doublet, Caen, 1705, pp. 162-167 He was consecrated Bishop of Bayeux in October 1119 during the Council of Reims by
Pope Calixtus II
Pope Callixtus II or Callistus II ( – 13 December 1124), born Guy of Burgundy, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 1119 to his death in 1124. His pontificate was shaped by the Investiture Controversy, ...
. While he already signed charters as bishop, nothing explains the delay in his consecration.
He presided in 1128 over a provincial council attended by the
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 Arch ...
and his suffragans the bishops of
Lisieux
Lisieux () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland.
Name
The name of the town derives from the ...
Coutances
Coutances () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.
History
Capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, the town was given the name of ''Constantia'' in 298 during the reign of Roman emperor Constantius Chloru ...
and
Sées
Sées () is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.
It lies on the river Orne from its source and north-by-northeast of Alençon. Sées station has rail connections to Argentan, Caen and Le Mans.
Name
The town's name deriv ...
, Geoffroy de Lèves,
bishop of Chartres
The oldest known list of bishops of Chartres is found in an 11th-century manuscript of Trinity Abbey, Vendôme. It includes 57 names from Adventus (Saint Aventin) to Aguiertus (Agobert) who died in 1060. The most well-known list is included in the ...
,
Josselin de Vierzy
Jocelin of Soissons (died 24 October 1152) was a French theologian, a philosophical opponent of Peter Abelard. He became bishop of Soissons, and is known also as a composer, with two pieces in the ''Codex Calixtinus''. He was teaching at the Pari ...
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 ...
s and King Henry I.
On 14 September 1130 he dedicated
Hugh of Amiens
Hugh of Amiens (died 1164), also known as Hugh de Boves, monk of Cluny Abbey, Cluny, prior of Limoges, prior of Lewes, abbot of Reading and archbishop of Rouen, was a 12th-century Picard-French Benedictine prelate.
Early career
Hugh was born ...
as
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 Arch ...
.
He also attended the coronation of King Louis VII of France in Reims on 25 October 1131.
Richard gave the bishopric the barony of Dover, of which he was lord. He was also the founder of the
Priory of Le Plessis-Grimoult
The Priory of Le Plessis-Grimoult (french: Prieuré du Plessis-Grimoult) is a former Augustinian monastery established in the 12th century in Le Plessis-Grimoult in the department of Calvados, Normandy, France. The ruins were listed as a '' mon ...
.
He died in
Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...