Richard fitz Samson, also known as Richard of Dover (french: Richard de Douvres), was the

bishop of Bayeux The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bayeux and Lisieux (Latin: ''Dioecesis Baiocensis et Lexoviensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Bayeux et Lisieux'') is a diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is coextensive with the Department of Calvados and is ...

(as Richard II) at the beginning of the 12th century.

Family

Richard was the son of

Samson of Worcester Samson (died 5 May 1112) was a medieval English clergyman who was Bishop of Worcester from 1096 to 1112. Life Samson was a Royal Chaplain and a canon and Treasurer of the diocese of Bayeux.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 ...

(1096-1112), and nephew of

Thomas of Bayeux Thomas of Bayeux (died 1100) was Archbishop of York from 1070 until 1100. He was educated at Liège and became a royal chaplain to Duke William of Normandy, who later became King William I of England. After the Norman Conquest, the kin ...

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 ...

(1070-1100). He was also the uncle of

Richard de Gloucester Richard of Gloucester or Richard Fitz Robert was appointed bishop of Bayeux in France in 1138 and died in 1142. He was the eldest son of Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, but he was illegitimate. His mother was Isabel of Dover, daughter of Samson of ...

, his successor in the bishopric of Bayeux.

Biography

Richard was grand vicar of

Odo of Bayeux Odo of Bayeux (died 1097), Earl of Kent and Bishop of Bayeux, was the maternal half-brother of William the Conqueror, and was, for a time, second in power after the King of England. Early life Odo was the son of William the Conqueror's mother ...

(brother of

William the Conqueror 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 The monarchy of the United Kingdom, ...

). Richard then succeeded Turold de Brémoy in the bishopric of Bayeux in 1107, appointed by King Henry I.M. Hermant, ''Histoire du diocèse de Bayeux, première partie contenant l'histoire des évêques'', Chez Pierre F. Doublet, Caen, 1705, pp. 162-167 He was consecrated Bishop of Bayeux in October 1119 during the Council of Reims by

Pope Calixtus II Pope Callixtus II or Callistus II ( – 13 December 1124), born Guy of Burgundy, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 1119 to his death in 1124. His pontificate was shaped by the Investiture Controversy, ...

. While he already signed charters as bishop, nothing explains the delay in his consecration. He presided in 1128 over a provincial council attended by the

Archbishop of Rouen The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen ( Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rothomagensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Rouen'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the ...

and his suffragans the bishops of

Lisieux Lisieux () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland. Name The name of the town derives from the ...

Avranches Avranches (; nrf, Avraunches) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called ''Avranchinais''. History By the end of the Roman period ...

Coutances Coutances () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. History Capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, the town was given the name of ''Constantia'' in 298 during the reign of Roman emperor Constantius Chlorus. ...

and

Sées Sées () is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. It lies on the river Orne from its source and north-by-northeast of Alençon. Sées station has rail connections to Argentan, Caen and Le Mans. Name The town's name deri ...

, Geoffroy de Lèves,

bishop of Chartres The oldest known list of bishops of Chartres is found in an 11th-century manuscript of Trinity Abbey, Vendôme. It includes 57 names from Adventus (Saint Aventin) to Aguiertus (Agobert) who died in 1060. The most well-known list is included in the ...

, Josselin de Vierzy,

bishop of Soissons The Roman Catholic Diocese of Soissons, Laon, and Saint-Quentin (Latin: ''Dioecesis Suessionensis, Laudunensis et Sanquintinensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Soissons, Laon et Saint-Quentin'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Chu ...

, as well as many

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. Th ...

s and King Henry I. On 14 September 1130 he dedicated

Hugh of Amiens Hugh of Amiens (died 1164), also known as Hugh de Boves, monk of Cluny, prior of Limoges, prior of Lewes, abbot of Reading and archbishop of Rouen, was a 12th-century Picard-French Benedictine prelate. Early career Hugh was born in Laon ...

archbishop of Rouen The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen ( Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rothomagensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Rouen'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the ...

. He also attended the coronation of King

Louis VII of France Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...

in Reims on 25 October 1131. Richard gave the bishopric the barony of Dover, of which he was lord. He was also the founder of the

Priory of Le Plessis-Grimoult The Priory of Le Plessis-Grimoult (french: Prieuré du Plessis-Grimoult) is a former Augustinian monastery established in the 12th century in Le Plessis-Grimoult in the department of Calvados, Normandy, France. The ruins were listed as a '' mon ...

. He died in

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

week of 1133 and was buried in

Bayeux Cathedral Bayeux Cathedral, also known as Cathedral of Our Lady of Bayeux (French: ''Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux''), is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Bayeux in Normandy, France. A national monument, it is the seat of the Bishop of ...

References

{{Authority control Year of birth missing 1133 deaths Bishops of Bayeux