Henry of Blois

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Henry of Blois^[1] (1101 – 1171) was Abbot of Glastonbury from 1126 and Bishop of Winchester from 1129 to his death.

Henry was one of five sons of Stephen, Count of Blois, by Adela of Normandy daughter of (William the Conqueror), and therefore brother of King Stephen. Henry's father died in 1102, during a battle in Ramalah, leaving an estate numbering more than 350 Castles and large properties in France including Chartres.

Henry was educated at Cluny and promptly adhered to the principles of Cluniac reform, which included a sense of intellectual freedom and humanism, as well as a high standard of devotion and discipline. Henry was brought to England by king Henry I, to be abbot of Glastonbury. In 1129 he was given the bishopric of Winchester and allowed to hold his beloved abbey at Glastonbury in conjunction with it. He had ambitions to become Archbishop of Canterbury, but refused to abandon his work and obligations to the confrers and congregatio of Glastonbury. However, in 1139, during the reign of his brother Stephen, Henry obtained a papal commission which gave him higher rank than the primate of Canterbury, meaning that in fact as well as in theory he became the master of the Church in England during the troubled times of the so-called "Anarchy". Thus, when his brother was unavailable, Henry Blois was the most powerful man in England.

Stephan Blois was crowned King of England in 1135, but the relations between the two were not always peaceful. After the Battle of Lincoln (1141), he found it more tactful and strategic to support Empress Matilda; but Matilda proved arrogant, greedy and contemptous. The next year Henry, rejoined his brother's side, and his successful defence of Winchester against the empress was the turning-point of the civil war. As Abbot of Glastonbury, Blois remained in touch with Peter the Venerable at Cluny and was made aware of most of the controversies on the continent, specifically the persecution of Peter Abelard.

Before and after his elevation to Bishop, Blois was advisor to his older brother, King Stephen and survived him. Henry Blois engineered hundreds of projects, including the greatest developments at Glastonbury Abbey before the destructive fire of 1185. Unike most Bishops of his age Henry had a passion for architecture. He built, the final additions to Winchester cathedral and Palace, including a tourist tunnel under the cathedral to make it easier for pilgrims to view relics. He also designed and built additions to many palaces and large houses including the castle of Farnham, Surrey and began the construction of the hospital of St Cross at Winchester.

The expiration of his legatine commission of 1144 deprived him of much of his power. His efforts to renew the commission were unsuccessful, but he made a personal visit to Rome and secured several favors for Glastonbury and the Benedictine order in general. Shortly after his brothers death and the accession of Henry II, Blois retired to Cluny for three years to mourn his mentor Peter the Venerable, who died on Christmas Day, 1156.

Blois wrote or sponsored several books including the Antiquities of Glastonbury, by William of Malmsbury, his close personal friend. He also inspired the largest illuminated bible project ever attempted, a huge folio edition standing nearly three feet in height. This bible is still on display at Winchester, although it was never fully finished.

In his later years Bishop Blois was appointed to preside over the trial of Thomas Becket and secretly supported Becketts family before and after his assassination.

In France, his nephew, Henry the Liberal, married Eleanor's daughter, Marie de Champagne and their Troubadour court flourished, surpassing, the Royal Parisian court in granduer.

Bishop Blois is now buried at Winchester in a plain stone crypt in the choir, but there is a controversy because some sources claim he was also buried at Cluny.During his lifetime he was occasionally referred to as, a king without a throne, and the power behind the throne. In the Antiquities, Malmsbury described him saying, "Yet, in spite of his noble birth he blushes when praised."

Hank Harrison in, the Grail in the Stars, claims Henry Blois is the anonymous author of the famed book Perlesvaux, known in English as the High History of the Holy Grail.