William Giffard (died 23 January 1129),
[Franklin "Giffard, William" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''] was the
Lord Chancellor of England
The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...
of
William II and
Henry I Henry I may refer to:
876–1366
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...
, from 1093 to 1101,
[Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 83] and
Bishop of Winchester (1100–1129).
Giffard was the son of
Walter Giffard, Lord of Longueville
Walter Gautier Giffard, Lord of Longueville, Normandy (a.k.a. 'Giffard of Barbastre'), was a Norman baron, a Tenant-in-chief in England, a Christian knight who fought against the Saracens in Spain during the Reconquista and was one of the 15 ...
and Ermengarde, daughter of
Gerard Flaitel.
[Keats-Rohan ''Domesday People'' p. 456] He also held the office of Dean of Rouen prior to his election as bishop.
[Spear "Norman Empire" ''Journal of British Studies'' p. 7] On 3 August 1100 he became
bishop of Winchester[Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 276] by nomination of Henry I. Henry nominated him probably in an attempt to win the support of the clergy in Henry's bid to claim the throne directly after the death of
William Rufus
William II ( xno, Williame; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third so ...
.
[Teunis "Coronation Charter of 1100" ''Journal of Medieval History'' p. 138] He was one of the bishops elect whom Archbishop
Anselm of Canterbury refused to consecrate in 1101 as having been nominated and invested by the lay power.
During the
investitures dispute Giffard was on friendly terms with Anselm, and drew upon himself a sentence of banishment through declining to accept consecration from
Gerard 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 ...
in 1103. He was, however, one of the bishops who pressed Anselm, in 1106, to give way to the king. He was finally consecrated after the settlement of 1107 on 11 August
[ and became a close friend of Archbishop Anselm. As bishop, William aided the first Cistercians to settle in England, when in 1128 he brought monks from L'Aumône Abbey in France to settle at ]Waverley Abbey
Waverley Abbey was the first Cistercian abbey in England, founded in 1128 by William Giffard, the Bishop of Winchester.
Located about southeast of Farnham, Surrey, it is situated on a flood-plain; surrounded by current and previous channe ...
.[Burton ''Monastic and Religious Orders'' p. 69] He also restored Winchester Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...
with great magnificence.
Among Giffard's actions as bishop was the refounding of a religious house at Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
and the staffing of it with Austin canons. The canons were drawn from Merton Priory
Merton Priory was an English Augustinian priory founded in 1114 by Gilbert Norman, Sheriff of Surrey under King Henry I (1100–1135). It was situated within the manor of Merton in the county of Surrey, in what is today the Colliers Wood area ...
.[Burton ''Monastic and Religious Orders'' p. 47] He was known for the close and good relations that he had with the monks of his cathedral chapter, sharing their meals and sleeping with them instead of in his own room.[Bethell "English Black Monks" ''English Historical Review'' p. 682]
Giffard died shortly before 25 January 1129, the date he was buried.[British History Online Bishops of Winchester]
accessed on 2 November 2007
Notes
References
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British History Online Bishops of Winchester
accessed on 2 November 2007
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Giffard, William
Year of birth missing
1129 deaths
Anglo-Normans
Lord chancellors of England
Bishops of Winchester
12th-century English Roman Catholic bishops
Burials at Winchester Cathedral