Robert Bloet

Robert Bloet (sometimes Robert Bloett;Knowles ''Monastic Order'' p. 132 died 1123) was Bishop of Lincoln 1093–1123 and Chancellor of England. Born into a noble Norman family, he became a royal clerk under King William I. Under William I's son and successor King William II, Bloet was first named chancellor then appointed to the See of Lincoln. Continuing to serve the king while bishop, Bloet remained a close royal councillor to William II's successor, King Henry I. He did much to embellish Lincoln Cathedral, and gave generously to his cathedral and other religious houses. He educated a number of noblemen, including illegitimate children of Henry I. He also was the patron of the medieval chronicler Henry of Huntingdon, and was an early patron of Gilbert of Sempringham, the founder of the Gilbertine monastic order.

Early life

Bloet was a member of the Norman noble family that held Ivry in Normandy. Bloet was related in some manner to Hugh, the Bishop of Bayeux from 1015 to 1049,Spear "School of Caen Revisited" ''Haskins Society Journal'' p. 65 and Hugh's brother John, who was Bishop of Avranches from 1060 to 1067.Barlow ''English Church 1066–1154'' pp. 70–71 Another relative was Richard Bloet, Abbot of St Albans Abbey.Knowles ''Monastic Order'' p. 187

Chancellor and bishop

Bloet was a royal clerk in the household of King William I of England. He accompanied William I's son, William Rufus, when Rufus traveled to England to claim the throne after William I's death.Barlow ''William Rufus'' p. 83 Rufus named Bloet as chancellor by January 1091,Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 83 but then named Bloet to the See of Lincoln in March 1093 after the death of Remigius de Fécamp.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 255 Bloet was appointed at the same time that Anselm was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, during a severe illness when Rufus feared he was dying.Barlow ''William Rufus'' pp. 299–300 Bloet was consecrated at Hastings not long before 22 February 1094, probably on 12 February the day after the dedication of the church at Battle Abbey.Greenway "Bishops" ''Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300'': Volume 3: Lincoln By 19 March 1094 he had been replaced as chancellor by William Giffard.

Prior to Bloet's consecration, the Archbishop of York, Thomas of Bayeux, who had previously had a claim to supervise the see of Lincoln, tried to prevent the Archbishop Anselm's consecrating Bloet. Thomas argued that the area of Lindsey, which was within the diocese of Lincoln, really belonged to the archdiocese of York.Owen "Bloet, Robert" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' The medieval chronicler Hugh the Chanter alleged that Bloet gave Rufus £3,000 to intervene on Bloet's side when Thomas attempted to assert York's claim to Lindsey, but another medieval chronicler, Henry of Huntingdon, who knew Bloet well, said that the sum was £5,000.Mason ''William II'' p. 78 This payment secured Rufus' support in the dispute between York and Lincoln, which was settled in Lincoln's favour.Mason ''William II'' pp. 103–104 The sum of £5,000 was extremely large, eight times what ''Domesday Book'' records as the bishop of Lincoln's annual income.Hollister ''Henry I'' pp. 386–387 The king gave York the abbeys of Selby and St Oswald, Gloucester in return for the settlement in favour of Lincoln. Bloet also refused to profess obedience to Anselm, but when King William intervened on Anselm's side, Bloet made the profession to Anselm.Barlow ''English Church 1066–1154'' pp. 38–39

Bloet was one of the chief administrative officers of the kingdom under William II, often associated with Ranulf Flambard, Urse d'Abetot, and Haimo the dapifer.West ''Justiciarship in England'' p. 11 As a bishop, he moved the newly founded monastery of Stow to Eynsham instead. This church was considered a proprietary church