William de Blois was a medieval

Bishop of Worcester A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

Life

William was a canon of the

diocese of Lincoln The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire. History The diocese traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Pre-Reformation Diocese of Leices ...

and held the office of Archdeacon of Buckingham in that diocese by 10 May 1206. Presumably he was related to William de Blois,

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and N ...

, but the exact relationship is unknown.British History Online Archdeacons of Buckingham
accessed on 3 November 2007 William was elected to the see of Worcester sometime around 25 August 1218 and his election was confirmed by the

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

to England Guala.British History Online Bishops of Worcester
accessed on 3 November 2007 He was consecrated on 7 October 1218. He died on 17 or 18 August 1236Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 279 or on 17 August. In 1224 William was appointed

Sheriff of Staffordshire This is a list of the sheriffs and high sheriffs of Staffordshire. The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. The sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities ass ...

and

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

. While Bishop of Worcester, William imposed particularly strict rules on Jews within the diocese in 1219. As elsewhere in England, Jews were officially compelled to wear square white badges, supposedly representing tabula. Blois attempted to impose additional restrictions on usury, and wrote to Pope Gregory in 1229 to ask for further, harsher measures, and complaining about lack of enforcement of measures in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

. In response, the papacy demanded that Christians be prevented from working in Jewish homes, and for enforcement of the wearing of badges.Vincent "Two Papal Letters" p. 219

Citations

References

British History Online Archdeacons of Buckingham
accessed on 3 November 2007
British History Online Bishops of Worcester
accessed on 3 November 2007 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blois, William De 1236 deaths Bishops of Worcester Archdeacons of Buckingham 13th-century English Roman Catholic bishops High Sheriffs of Staffordshire High Sheriffs of Shropshire Year of birth unknown