Robert of Jumièges
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| Robert of Jumiéges | |
| Archbishop of Canterbury | |
|
|
| Enthroned | unknown |
|---|---|
| Ended | 1052 |
| Predecessor | Edsige |
| Successor | Stigand |
| Consecration | 1051 |
| Died | 26 May 1055 |
Robert of Jumièges (sometimes Robert Chambert or Robert Champart) (died 26 May 1055) was the first Norman Archbishop of Canterbury.[1] He also served as prior of the church of St Ouen at Rouen, abbot of Jumièges Abbey and as Bishop of London. He was a good friend and advisor to the king of England, Edward the Confessor.
It is recorded that Robert was sent by the king on an errand to future king William of Normandy. William of Jumièges claimed that Robert went to tell Duke William that Edward wished William to be his heir. The archbishop died in exile at Jumièges either between 1053 and 1055 or shortly before 1070. The treatment of Robert by the English was put forward by William the Conqueror as one of the reasons for his conquest of England.
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[edit] Priest and bishop
Robert was a Norman who was prior of the church of St Ouen at Rouen before he was abbot of Jumièges Abbey.[2] His alternate surname "Champart" or "Chambert" probably derived from champart, a term for the part of the crop that was paid as rent to a landlord.[3] He was a friend of Edward the Confessor while Edward was still in exile in Normandy, and Robert went with Edward to England in 1042[1] It was owing to Edward that in August 1044 Robert became bishop of London.[4] Robert remained close to the king and was the leader of the party opposed to Earl Godwin. The Life of Saint Edward claimed that Robert "was always the most powerful confidential adviser of the king."[5] In 1051, although the chapter had already elected Æthelric, a kinsman of Godwin and fellow monk,[6][7] Edward appointed him archbishop of Canterbury.[8] Robert went to Rome to receive his pallium and returned to England in June 1051.[9]
After returning from Rome, Robert refused to consecrate the Abbot of Abingdon Spearhafoc, the king's goldsmith,[10] as Robert's successor as Bishop of London, claiming that Pope Leo IX had forbidden the consecration. Almost certainly the grounds were simony, as Leo had recently issued proclamations against that sin. In refusing to consecrate Spearhafoc, Robert was following his own interests and going against the wishes of both the King and Godwin.[11] In the end, William the Norman was consecrated instead of Spearhafoc.[10] Robert also discovered that some lands that belonged to Canterbury had fallen into the hands of Godwin, but his attempts to recover the lands through the shire courts were unsuccessful.[11] Later, at a council held at Gloucester in September 1051, Robert accused Earl Godwin of plotting to kill King Edward.[12] Godwin and his family were exiled and Robert probably claimed the shire of Kent on the strength of Archbishop Edsige having held the shire.[13]
[edit] English royal succession
The Life of Saint Edward claims that Robert tried to get King Edward to divorce Queen Edith, but Edward refused and instead she was sent to a nunnery.[13] The Life of Saint Edward is a hagiography and intended to show Edward as a saint, and saints generally do not divorce their wives because the wife is barren. Nor do saints concern themselves with the need to provide themselves with heirs. Instead, the Life stresses throughout the work that Edward voluntarily remained celibate. The king remaining celibate, however, is unlikely to have actually been the case, as the only evidence for this is from the Life. More likely, Edward, at the urging of Robert, wished to divorce Edith at this time and remarry in order to secure the English succession.[14]
During Godwin's exile, Robert is said to have been sent by the king on an errand to Duke William of Normandy.[15] The reason for the embassy is somewhat uncertain. William of Jumièges says that Robert went to tell Duke William that Edward wished William to be Edward's heir. William of Poitiers gives the same reason, but also includes the fact that Robert took with him Godwin's son Wulfnoth and grandson Hakon (son of Sweyn), as hostages. Combined with the fact that the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle mentions no such visit, it is clear that no certain statements can be made on whether or not Robert visited Normandy or why he did so.[16]
[edit] Outlawed, death, and legacy
When Godwin returned from exile in 1052 Robert left England quickly,[17] in company with Bishop Ulf of Dorcester and Bishop William of London. He likely took the aforementioned hostages, Wulfnoth and Hakon, with him, with the permission of King Edward or not.[18] He was outlawed and deposed on 14 September 1052.[8] He did journey to Rome to complain to the pope about his exile,[19] where Leo IX and successive popes condemned Stigand.[20] Robert's personal property was divided between Earl Godwin, Harold Godwinson, and the queen, who had returned to court.[21]
He died at Jumièges either between 1053 and 1055,[16] or shortly before 1070. Robert de Torigni states the day of his death as 26 May 1055. The valuable liturgical manuscript, the "Missal of Robert of Jumièges," (now at Rouen) was given by him when he was Bishop of London to the abbey at Jumièges.[22] Robert's treatment was used by William the Conqueror as one of the reasons for invading England, the other being that Edward had named William his heir. Ian Walker, who wrote the most recent scholarly biography of Harold Godwinson, puts forth the theory that it was Robert, while in exile after the return of Godwin, who testified that King Edward had nominated Duke William to be Edward's heir.[20] This view is contradicted by David Douglas, a historian and biographer of William the Conqueror, however, who held that Robert merely relayed the decision of Edward, probably while Robert was on his way to Rome to receive his pallium.[2]
While abbot, Robert had sponsored building at Jumièges, in the new Romanesque style which was becoming popular. It has been argued that Robert brought the style with him to England and that this influenced Edward the Confessor's new church at Westminster Abbey. Westminster was rebuilt by Edward in the new Romanesque style, which was previously unknown in England, so it is possible that Robert did bring the Romanesque style of architecture to England.[23]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Barlow, Frank, Edward the Confessor Berkeley: University of California Press 1970 ISBN 0-520-01671-8 p. 50
- ^ a b Douglas, David C. William the Conqueror: The Norman Impact Upon England Berkeley: University of California Press 1964 p. 167-170
- ^ Cowdrey, H. E. J. "Robert of Jumièges (d. 1052/1055)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press, 2004 Online Edition accessed November 10, 2007
- ^ Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology, Third Edition, revised, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 230. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
- ^ Quoted in Huscroft, Richard Ruling England 1042-1217 London: Pearson Longman 2005 ISBN 0-582-84882-2' p. 50
- ^ Barlow, Frank Edward the Confessor Berkeley: University of California Press 1970 ISBN 0-520-01671-8 p. 104
- ^ Walker, Ian Harold: The Last Anglo-Saxon King Wrens Park Publishing 2000 ISBN 0-905-778-464 p. 27
- ^ a b Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology, Third Edition, revised, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 214. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
- ^ Barlow, Frank Edward the Confessor Berkeley: University of California Press 1970 ISBN 0-520-01671-8 p. 106
- ^ a b Huscroft, Richard Ruling England 1042-1217 London: Pearson Longman 2005 ISBN 0-582-84882-2 p. 52
- ^ a b Walker, Ian Harold: The Last Anglo-Saxon King Wrens Park Publishing 2000 ISBN 0-905-778-464 p. 29-30
- ^ Barlow, Frank Edward the Confessor Berkeley: University of California Press 1970 ISBN 0-520-01671-8 p. 111
- ^ a b Barlow, Frank Edward the Confessor Berkeley: University of California Press 1970 ISBN 0-520-01671-8 p. 115
- ^ Walker, Ian Harold: The Last Anglo-Saxon King Wrens Park Publishing 2000 ISBN 0-905-778-464 p. 35-36
- ^ Barlow, Frank Edward the Confessor Berkeley: University of California Press 1970 ISBN 0-520-01671-8 p. 107
- ^ a b Walker, Ian Harold: The Last Anglo-Saxon King Wrens Park Publishing 2000 ISBN 0-905-778-464 p. 37-38
- ^ Barlow, Frank Edward the Confessor Berkeley: University of California Press 1970 ISBN 0-520-01671-8 p. 124
- ^ Walker, Ian Harold: The Last Anglo-Saxon King Wrens Park Publishing 2000 ISBN 0-905-778-464 p. 47
- ^ Barlow, Frank Edward the Confessor Berkeley: University of California Press 1970 ISBN 0-520-01671-8 p. 126
- ^ a b Walker, Ian Harold: The Last Anglo-Saxon King Wrens Park Publishing 2000 ISBN 0-905-778-464 p. 50-51
- ^ Stenton, F. M. Anglo-Saxon England Third Edition Oxford:Oxford University Press 1971 ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5 p. 568
- ^
"Robert of Jumièges" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia. - ^ Mason, Emma The House of Godwine: The History of a Dynasty London: Hambledon and London 2004 ISBN 1-85285-389-1 p. 83
[edit] Further reading
- Two Saxon Chronicles, edited by J. J. Earle and Charles Plummer (Oxford, 1892)
- Freeman, E. A., History of the Norman Conquest (Oxford, 1870—76)
[edit] External links
| Roman Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Elfward |
Bishop of London 1044–1051 |
Succeeded by William the Norman |
| Preceded by Edsige |
Archbishop of Canterbury 1051–1052 |
Succeeded by Stigand |
|
||||||||
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Robert of Jumièges |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Robert Chambert |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Abbot of Jumièges; Bishop of London; Archbishop of Canterbury |
| DATE OF BIRTH | |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | |
| DATE OF DEATH | about 1070 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
