Gerard (died 21 May 1108) was

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 ...

between 1100 and 1108 and

Lord Chancellor 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. Th ...

of England from 1085 until 1092. A Norman, he was a member of the cathedral clergy at Rouen before becoming a royal clerk under King

William I of England 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 Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

and subsequently his son King William II Rufus. Gerard was appointed Lord Chancellor by William I, and he continued in that office under Rufus, who rewarded him with the Bishopric of Hereford in 1096. Gerard may have been with the king's hunting party when William II was killed, as he is known to have witnessed the first charter issued by the new king, Henry I of England, within days of William's death. Soon after Henry's coronation Gerard was appointed to the recently vacant

see 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 ...

, and became embroiled in the long-running dispute between York and the

see of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Just ...

concerning which archbishopric had primacy over England. Gerard managed to secure papal recognition of York's claim to jurisdiction over the church in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, but he was forced to agree to a compromise with his counterpart at Canterbury, Anselm, over Canterbury's claims to authority over York, although it was not binding on his successors. In the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest ( German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops ( investiture) and abbots of mona ...

between the king and the papacy over the right to appoint bishops, Gerard worked on reconciling the claims of the two parties; the controversy was finally resolved in 1107. Gerard was a patron of learning, to the extent that he urged at least one of his clergy to study

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, a language not commonly studied at that time. He himself was a student of

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

, which led to suggestions that he was a magician and a sorcerer. Partly because of such rumours, and his unpopular attempts to reform his cathedral clergy, Gerard was denied a burial inside

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Arch ...

after his sudden death in 1108. His successor as archbishop subsequently had Gerard's remains moved into the cathedral church from their initial resting place beside the cathedral porch.

Early life and career

Gerard was the nephew of

Walkelin Walkelin (died 1098) was the first Norman bishop of Winchester. Life Walkelin was of noble birth and related to William the Conqueror, whom he served as a royal chaplain.Bishop of Winchester, and Simon, Abbot of Ely.Greenway "Archbishops" ''Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300'': Volume 6: York His parents were Osbert and Anna,Burton "Gerard" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' and his brother Peter was also a royal clerk.Barlow ''William Rufus'' p. 409 The places and times of his birth and upbringing are unknown; he is documented as

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

Rouen Cathedral Rouen Cathedral (french: Cathédrale primatiale Notre-Dame de l'Assomption de Rouen) is a Roman Catholic church in Rouen, Normandy, France. It is the see of the Archbishop of Rouen, Primate of Normandy. It is famous for its three towers, each i ...

, and

precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

of the same cathedral, although the dates of his appointments to either office are unrecorded. By 1091 he had become archdeacon of Rouen.Barrow "Bishops" ''Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300'': Volume 8: Hereford He served in the royal chancery under successive kings of England, William I and William II.

Bishop of Hereford

Gerard was appointed Lord Chancellor of England in 1085,Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 83 and was present at William I's deathbed in 1087.Douglas ''William the Conqueror'' p. 359 He continued as Chancellor to William Rufus until 1092; what precipitated his loss of office is unclear.Barlow ''William Rufus'' p. 96 He retained the king's trust, for Rufus employed him in 1095 along with

William Warelwast William Warelwast (died 1137) was a medieval Norman cleric and Bishop of Exeter in England. Warelwast was a native of Normandy, but little is known about his background before 1087, when he appears as a royal clerk for King William II. Most o ...

on a diplomatic mission to Pope

Urban II Pope Urban II ( la, Urbanus II; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening th ...

regarding Archbishop Anselm receiving the

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropol ...

, the sign of an archbishop's authority. Rufus offered to recognise Urban as pope rather than the antipope

Clement III Pope Clement III ( la, Clemens III; 1130 – 20 March 1191), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 December 1187 to his death in 1191. He ended the conflict between the Papacy and the city of Rome, by all ...

in return for Anselm's deposition and the delivery of Anselm's pallium into Rufus' custody, to dispose of as he saw fit. The mission departed for Rome in February 1095 and returned by

Whitsun Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the ...

with a papal legate, Walter the Cardinal Bishop of Albano, who had Anselm's pallium. The legate secured Rufus' recognition of Urban, but subsequently refused to consider Anselm's deposition. Rufus resigned himself to Anselm's position as archbishop, and at the king's court at Windsor he consented to Anselm being given the pallium.Vaughn ''Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan'' pp. 186–189 Although not yet

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

, Gerard was rewarded with the Bishopric of Hereford, and he was consecrated by Archbishop Anselm on 8 June 1096;Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 250 his

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform v ...

as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

had taken place the previous day.Bartlett ''England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings'' p. 378 He assisted at the consecration of St Paul's Cathedral in London on 9 June 1096. He may have been a member of the hunting party in the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, fea ...

on 2 August 1100 when Rufus was killed, as he witnessed King Henry I's coronation charter – now known as the

Charter of Liberties The Charter of Liberties, also called the Coronation Charter, or Statutes of the Realm, was a written proclamation by Henry I of England, issued upon his accession to the throne in 1100. It sought to bind the King to certain laws regarding the ...

– three days later at Winchester, close by the New Forest.Barlow ''William Rufus'' p. 420 Gerard was present at Henry's coronation that same day, along with Maurice, Bishop of London. Henry was probably crowned by Maurice, but the medieval chronicler

Walter Map Walter Map ( la, Gualterius Mappus; 1130 – 1210) was a medieval writer. He wrote '' De nugis curialium'', which takes the form of a series of anecdotes of people and places, offering insights on the history of his time. Map was a court ...

states that Gerard crowned Henry in return for a promise of the first vacant archbishopric.Cantor ''Church, Kingship, and Lay Investiture'' pp. 135–136 Gerard may have assisted Maurice in the coronation ceremony.Green ''Henry I'' p. 43

Archbishop

Gerard became Archbishop of York in December 1100.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 281 No source mentions him being invested by the king, but as Anselm urged Pope

Paschal II Pope Paschal II ( la, Paschalis II; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Ranierius, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was cre ...

to give Gerard his pallium, which he would have been unlikely to do if Gerard had been invested by Henry, that possibility seems remote.Vaughn ''Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan'' p. 222 footnote 36 At Whitsun in 1101 King Henry I, with Anselm's support, deprived

Ranulf Flambard Ranulf Flambard ( c. 1060 – 5 September 1128) was a medieval Norman Bishop of Durham and an influential government minister of King William Rufus of England. Ranulf was the son of a priest of Bayeux, Normandy, and his nickname Flambard ...

Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...

, of the lands of the see of Durham, because Ranulf had defected to Henry's elder brother

Robert Curthose Robert Curthose, or Robert II of Normandy ( 1051 – 3 February 1134, french: Robert Courteheuse / Robert II de Normandie), was the eldest son of William the Conqueror and succeeded his father as Duke of Normandy in 1087, reigning until 1106. ...

, who also claimed the English throne. Gerard then deposed Ranulf from his bishopric.Hollister ''Henry I'' pp. 135–136 Soon after his

translation Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to York, Gerard began a long dispute with Anselm, claiming equal primacy with the Archbishop of Canterbury and refusing to make a profession of canonical obedience to Anselm, part of the long Canterbury–York dispute. At the 1102 Council of Westminster, Gerard reportedly kicked over the smaller chair provided for him as Archbishop of York, and refused to be seated until he was provided with one as large as Anselm's.Barlow ''English Church 1066–1154'' p. 43 He travelled to Rome in 1102 to receive his pallium from the pope, to whom he presented the king's side against Anselm in the controversy surrounding

investiture Investiture (from the Latin preposition ''in'' and verb ''vestire'', "dress" from ''vestis'' "robe") is a formal installation or ceremony that a person undergoes, often related to membership in Christian religious institutes as well as Christian k ...

s.Vaughn ''Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan'' p. 239 The pope decided against the king, but Gerard and two other bishops reported that the pope had assured them that the various papal decrees against the lay investiture of bishops would not be enforced. Their claim was denied by Anselm's representatives and the pope,Barlow ''English Church 1066–1154'' pp. 299–300 who

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

Gerard until he recanted.Barlow ''English Church 1066–1154'' p. 301 BL MS Royal 14 C VII f

Gerard secured papal recognition of York's

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a ...

for the Scots. He subsequently consecrated Roger as

Bishop of Orkney The Bishop of Orkney was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Orkney, one of thirteen medieval bishoprics of Scotland. It included both Orkney and Shetland. It was based for almost all of its history at St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall. Th ...

, but refused to consecrate Thurgot to the see of St Andrews because Thurgot would not recognise the primacy of York. Gerard gave generously to the monasteries of his diocese; the medieval chronicler Hugh the Chantor stated that Thomas II, Gerard's successor, accused Gerard of having dissipated the diocese's endowment. King Olaf I of Man and the Isles wrote to "G", Archbishop of York, asking for the consecration of "our bishop" by York, but it does not appear to have taken place under Gerard or his successor.Watt "Bishops of the Isles" ''Innes Review'' pp. 110–111 During the first four years of Henry's reign Gerard was one of the king's chief advisors, along with Robert of Meulan,

Count of Meulan The county of Meulan, in Normandy, France, appeared as an entity within the region of the Vexin when the otherwise unknown Count Waleran established an independent power base on a fortified island in the River Seine, around the year 1020. Waleran' ...

in Normandy and later

Earl of Leicester Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837. Early creatio ...

. Gerard was one of Henry's greatest supporters among the bishops during the Investiture Crisis.Cantor ''Church, Kingship, and Lay Investiture'' pp. 238–249 In 1101 Gerard witnessed a treaty between Henry and

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, the Count of Flanders, which sought as far as possible to distance Robert from any future conflict between Henry and his elder brother Robert Curthose, or between Henry and King

Philip I of France Philip I (23 May 1052 – 29 July 1108), called the Amorous, was King of the Franks from 1060 to 1108. His reign, like that of most of the early Capetians, was extraordinarily long for the time. The monarchy began a modest recovery from the low i ...

.Green ''Henry I'' pp. 61–62 After Gerard's return from Rome he restored Ranulf Flambard to the see of Durham. In 1102 Anselm refused to consecrate three bishops, two of whom had received investiture from the king; Gerard offered to consecrate them instead, but all except one refused.Cantor ''Church, Kingship, and Lay Investiture'' pp. 166–167 From 1105 onwards Gerard slowly began to embrace the papal position on investiture of bishops, which opposed laymen investing bishops with the symbols of episcopal authority. As part of his change of position, Gerard withdrew from court to care for his diocese. Towards the end of 1105 Gerard attempted to join Bohemond of Antioch, who was assembling a crusading force in France, but it appears that King Henry prevented Gerard's departure. In 1106 Gerard wrote to Bohemond that he was still preparing to go on crusade, but he never did.Nicholl ''Thurstan'' p. 26 At about the same time, Gerard was working to find a mutually acceptable resolution to the Investiture Crisis, writing a number of letters and other works supporting Anselm's and the pope's position. By 1107 King Henry and Anselm had reached an agreement settling the dispute. Gerard agreed to a compromise on the matter of obedience to Anselm. King Henry proposed that Anselm accept a witnessed oath from Gerard that he would remain bound by the profession he made to Anselm on his consecration as Bishop of Hereford. Gerard made this oath at the Council of Westminster in 1107. It was a victory for Canterbury, but not a complete one, as Gerard avoided making a written profession, and it was specific to Gerard, not to his office.Vaughn ''Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan'' pp. 334–336 Gerard continued to oppose Anselm's attempts to assert Canterbury's primacy, but the two were reconciled before Gerard's death. Gerard also had an uneasy relationship with his cathedral chapter, after attempting to reform his cathedral clergy by forcing them to give up their wives and concubines and become ordained priests. He wrote to Anselm in 1103 complaining of the intransigence of his clergy and envying Anselm's better relations with Canterbury's chapter, which was composed of monks instead of the secular canons who made up York Minster's chapter. In this correspondence, Gerard complained that some of the York canons refused to be ordained as priests, thereby hoping to avoid taking the vow of celibacy. He also accused them of accepting prebends but refusing to live or work at the cathedral, and of focusing on a narrow legal definition of celibacy without actually being celibate. The canons' argument was that they were only required not to maintain women in their own houses, but they were not forbidden to visit or entertain women in houses belonging to others.Nicholl ''Thurstan'' pp. 43–44 It was not only Gerard who complained about the relationship between himself and his canons; the latter accused Gerard of impoverishing York by making gifts of lands to others.Nicholl ''Thurstan'' p. 114

Death and legacy

Gerard was an associate of the anonymous author of the ''

Quadripartitus The title ''Quadripartitus'' refers to an extensive legal collection compiled during the reign of Henry I, king of England (1100–1135).Wormald, ''Making of English law'', p. 236 The work consists of Anglo-Saxon legal materials in Latin transl ...

'' and the ''

Leges Henrici Primi The ''Leges Henrici Primi'' or ''Laws of Henry I'' is a legal treatise, written in about 1115, that records the legal customs of medieval England in the reign of King Henry I of England. Although it is not an official document, it was written ...

'', two 12th-century law books. The medieval chronicler

William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as " ...

charged Gerard with immorality, avarice and the practice of magic.Barlow ''English Church 1066–1154'' p. 72 Gerard encouraged at least one of his clergy to study Hebrew, a language not normally studied at the time.Barlow ''English Church 1066–1154'' p. 247 Some chroniclers considered his ownership of a Hebrew psalter to be disturbing, seeing it as a sign of heresy or secret Judaism. Among the sins that Malmesbury imputed to him was the study of

Julius Firmicus Maternus __NOTOC__ Julius Firmicus Maternus was a Roman Latin writer and astrologer, who received a pagan classical education that made him conversant with Greek; he lived in the reign of Constantine I (306 to 337 AD) and his successors. His triple career m ...

, a late Roman astrologer, every morning, which to Malmesbury meant that Gerard was a sorcerer.Barlow ''English Church 1066–1154'' p. 259 Malmesbury further claimed that Gerard was "lewd and lustful". In Gerard's favour, Anselm regarded him as learned and highly intelligent. Some verses composed by Gerard survive in unpublished form, now in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

manuscript collectionSharpe ''Handlist of Latin Writers'' pp. 137–138 as part of manuscript

Cotton Titus This is an incomplete list of some of the manuscripts from the Cotton library that today form the Cotton collection of the British Library. Some manuscripts were destroyed or damaged in a fire at Ashburnham House in 1731, and a few are kept in othe ...

D.xxiv.Staff "Full Description: Cotton Titus D.xxiv" ''Manuscripts Catalogue'' A collection of his letters circulated in the mid-12th century, part of a bequest made to Bec Abbey in 1164 by

Philip de Harcourt Philip de Harcourt was a medieval Lord Chancellor of England and Bishop of Bayeux. He was unsuccessfully elected as the Bishop of Salisbury. Life De Harcourt was the son of Robert who was the son of Anschetil, lord of Harcourt, Eure in France. ...

, the Bishop of Bayeux, but it is now lost. Gerard died suddenly on 21 May 1108, at Southwell, on his way to London to attend a council. His body was found in an orchard, next to a book of "curious arts", his copy of Julius Firmicus. His canons refused to allow his burial within his cathedral, but their hostility probably owed more to Gerard's attempts to reform their lifestyle than to his alleged interest in sorcery. Gerard was at first buried beside the porch at

Early life and career

Bishop of Hereford

Archbishop

Death and legacy

Notes

Citations

References

Further reading