Roger de Clinton (died 1148) was a medieval

Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West M ...

. He was responsible for organising a new grid street plan for the town of

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

in the 12th century which survives to this day.

Life

Clinton was the nephew of

Geoffrey de Clinton Geoffrey de Clinton (died c. 1134) was an Anglo-Norman noble, chamberlain and treasurer to King Henry I of England. He was foremost amongst the men king Henry "raised from the dust". He married Lescelina. Life Clinton's family origins are a litt ...

, an advisor to King

Henry I of England Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...

.Barlow ''English Church'' p. 87 Clinton had been an

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

before his elevation to the episcopate,Cantor ''Church Kingship and Lay Investiture'' p. 292 footnote 115 either of

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, sou ...

(1119–1129) or of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

(c.1129).Bartlett ''England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings'' p. 400 Geoffrey de Clinton was said to have promised King Henry three thousand

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel ...

if the king would appoint Roger a bishop.Chibnall ''Anglo-Norman England'' p. 80 Roger was nominated in October 1129, and consecrated on 22 December 1129.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 253 Roger was part of the deputation to the papal curia in 1139 that defended King

Stephen of England Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne '' jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 ...

against the charge of breaking his oath to the

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda ( 7 February 110210 September 1167), also known as the Empress Maude, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter of King Henry I of England, she moved to Germany as ...

. Another member of the delegation included

Arnulf of Lisieux Arnulf of Lisieux (1104/1109 – 31 August 1184) was a medieval French bishop who figured prominently as a conservative figure during the Renaissance of the 12th century, built the Cathedral of Lisieux, which introduced Gothic architecture to No ...

, who was an archdeacon at the time, but who presented the case.Schriber ''Dilemma of Arnulf of Lisieux'' p. 16 Roger also 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 ...

in 1139.Barlow ''English Church'' p. 112 The ''

Gesta Stephani __NOTOC__ ''Deeds of King Stephen'' or ''Acts of Stephen'' or ''Gesta Regis Stephani'' is a mid-12th-century English history by an anonymous author about King Stephen of England and his struggles with his cousin, Empress Matilda, also known as the ...

'' claimed that Roger was heavily involved in military affairs during the reign of King Stephen. Clinton died on 16 April 1148. Clinton was responsible for establishing Buildwas Abbey,Burton ''Monastic and Religious Orders'' p. 229 a Cistercian house in Shropshire in 1135.

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Life

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