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__NOTOC__ Peter (died 1085) was a medieval cleric. He became
Bishop of 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 ...
in 1072, then his title changed to
Bishop of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York. The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the ...
when the see was moved in 1075.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 253 Peter had been a royal chaplain before being nominated to the see of Lichfield. Nothing else is known of his background, although presumably he was a Norman, as were most of King
William I of England William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was ...
's episcopal appointments.Powell and Wallis ''House of Lords'' p. 36 He may have been a royal clerk of King
Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...
,Barlow ''English Church 1000–1066'' pp. 117–118 although one charter of 1065 that lists his name is a forgery.Barlow ''English Church 1000–1066'' p. 121 He was the custodian of the see of Lincoln, before his elevation to the episcopate.Cooke and Costambeys "Peter" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' He was consecrated after May 1072 and died in 1085. Peter pillaged the abbey of Coventry, "forcing an entry into their dormitory and breaking into their strongboxes, robbing them of their horses and all their goods" and was censured by Archbishop
Lanfranc Lanfranc, OSB (1005  1010 – 24 May 1089) was an Italian-born English churchman, monk and scholar. Born in Italy, he moved to Normandy to become a Benedictine monk at Bec. He served successively as prior of Bec Abbey and abbot of St Ste ...
of Canterbury, who chastised him that "it is neither your role or as a bishop nor within your power to do these things".Barlow ''English Church 1066–1154'' p. 62 footnote 52 Peter was buried at Chester. The historian
Katharine Keats-Rohan Katharine Stephanie Benedicta Keats-Rohan (; born 1957) is a British history researcher, specialising in prosopography. She has produced seminal work on early European history, and collaborated with, among others, Christian Settipani.
suggests that he was the uncle of
Regenbald Regenbald (sometimes known as Regenbald of Cirencester) was a priest and royal official in Anglo–Saxon England under King Edward the Confessor. His name suggests that he was not a native Englishman, and perhaps he was German or Norman. He firs ...
, a royal clerk under King Edward and King William.Keats-Rohan ''Domesday People'' p. 351


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References

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Further reading

* Cherry, J. "The lead seal matrix of Peter, bishop of Chester" ''Antiquaries Journal'' Vol. 65 (1985), p. 472–3 and pl. CVI b {{DEFAULTSORT:Peter of Lichfield 11th-century English Roman Catholic bishops Bishops of Lichfield Bishops of Chester (ancient) 1085 deaths Year of birth unknown