Ranulf Flambard

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Ranulf Flambard
Denomination Catholic
Senior posting
See Diocese of Durham
Title Bishop of Durham
Period in office 1099–1128
Predecessor William de St-Calais
Successor Geoffrey Rufus
Personal
Date of death September 5, 1128

Ranulf Flambard, also known as Ralph Flambard or Ranulph Flambard and sometimes Ranulf Passiflamme,[1] (c. 1060–September 5, 1128) was a medieval Norman Bishop of Durham and an influential government minister of King William Rufus of England. He was the son of a priest of Bayeux, Normandy, and his nickname Flambard means incendiary or torch-bearer, and may have referred to his personality. He started his career under King William I of England, probably in the compilation of the Domesday Book, as well as being the keeper of the king's seal. On the death of William I, Ranulf chose to serve the new king of England, William Rufus.

Under Rufus, he continued to hold the king's seal, and also became involved in the financial administration of the kingdom, where he quickly made a name for himself by his novel methods of raising revenue. He was given custody of a number of vacant ecclesiastical offices, administering at one point sixteen vacant bishoprics or abbeys. His many duties have led to him being considered the first Chief Justiciar of England. During Rufus' reign, Ranulf supervised the construction of the first stone bridge in London and oversaw the construction of the king's hall at Westminster. In 1099 he was rewarded with the bishopric of Durham.

On the death of Rufus in 1100, Ranulf was imprisoned in the Tower of London by Rufus' successor Henry I of England. Ranulf was a convenient scapegoat for the financial extortions of Rufus' reign. He became the first prisoner to escape from the Tower and went into exile in Normandy with Rufus' and Henry's older brother Robert Curthose, the Duke of Normandy. Ranulf became a leading advisor to Robert, and assisted in his unsuccessful invasion of England, an attempt to oust Henry from the throne. The brothers reconciled, but although Ranulf was restored to office he spent the next few years in Normandy, returning only after Henry had defeated Robert at the Battle of Tinchebray. Ranulf subsequently retired from political life, with only occasional appearances in public. He remained active in ecclesiastical affairs, attending councils and working to defend the rights of his see.

Contents

[edit] Early life

A page from Domesday Book, which Ranulf was involved with
A page from Domesday Book, which Ranulf was involved with

Ranulf was a Norman[2] and the son of Thurstin, a parish priest in the diocese of Bayeux. Ranulf was probably born about 1060, as he was close to 70 when he died in 1128.[3] Originally he worked for Odo of Bayeux, but he soon entered the chancery of William I, Odo's half-brother. He stood out amongst the other clerks for his intelligence and his good looks.[4] His nickname, Flambard, means torch-bearer, incendiary or devouring flame; and may have been given to him for his high-spirited personality.[5] Orderic Vitalis, a medieval chronicler, records that Robert fitzThurstin gave the nickname to Ranulf, because Robert resented the fact that Ranulf, though of low birth, ordered the nobility around.[6] Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury told the pope that the nickname came from Ranulf's cruelty, which Anselm likened to a consuming flame.[3]

Ranulf acquired the reputation of an able financier and administrator, and helped to increase the royal revenues.[7] He appears to have played an important part in the compilation of the Domesday survey,[8] perhaps even the main orchestrator of the project.[9][10] Domesday Book gives his profession as clerk, and records him holding land in a number of counties.[2] Before the death of the old king he became chaplain to Maurice, bishop of London, whom he had formerly served in the chancery. Some sources call him "almost illiterate", but this probably meant he was not formally educated in the liberal arts.[11] His work in the chancery and as an administrator would have required knowledge of Latin.[3] He also served as the keeper of the king's seal from about 1085. Once, while he was traveling in the Thames estuary with the seal, he was captured by pirates. Thinking quickly, he prevented the capture of the seal by throwing the seal into the sea.[12] Although he served William the Conqueror, he does not attest a single genuine charter or writ of William's, which implies he was not a leading servant.[13] When King William died and his lands were split between his elder son Robert Curthose, who received Normandy, and the third son, William Rufus,[14] who received England, Ranulf chose to serve Rufus in England.[4]

[edit] Work under Rufus

A drawing of the interior of Westminster hall, dating from about 1808. The walls date to Ranulf's construction work at the site.
A drawing of the interior of Westminster hall, dating from about 1808. The walls date to Ranulf's construction work at the site.

Before the death of William the Conqueror, Ranulf held a prebend in the diocese of Salisbury.[15] Early in the reign of Rufus he held the offices of dean of Christchurch in Twynham, Hampshire and was a prebendary of London and Lincoln.[15][16] He was still keeper of the king's seal, and also may have been in charge of the royal scriptorium.[17] He is usually described as the chaplain of Rufus,[18] but he is also called treasurer[19] and sometimes capitalis justicaiarius.[20] Other times his role is given the title procurator.[5]

As chief financial administrator, he bore the brunt of the chronicler's condemnations for extortion and efforts to increase royal revenues. Besides attempts to increase the efficiency of collection and the rate of taxation, Ranulf created new methods of raising money.[13] One of his new measures in revenue collection came in 1094, when the fyrd, or English militia, was assembled in order to fight in Normandy against the king's brother Robert Curthose. When all the men had assembled, instead of sending them to Normandy, Ranulf dismissed them, after collecting the 10 shillings that each man had been given by their district for maintenance. Ranulf then spent the money on mercenaries.[21] Ranulf also actively pressed lawsuits, including bringing suit against Anselm on the day of Anselm's consecration as Archbishop of Canterbury.[22] Another innovation was the attempt to collect a relief, much like the relief due from vassals at the death of an overlord, from the under-tenants of church lands when the church office changed hands.[23] This attempt came at the death of Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester in 1095, when the king sent writs to the free tenants of the bishop, setting the amount of relief owed to the king.[24] This attempt was not repeated, however.[15]

He administered for the king a large proportion of the vacant ecclesiastical offices.[25] He personally managed sixteen abbeys or bishoprics.[26][27] Eventually he obtained the wealthy see of Durham for himself in May 1099, being consecrated on June 5, 1099.[28] He had been the custodian of the see since the death of the previous bishop in early 1096.[29] At his consecration, he managed to avoid giving a profession of obedience to Thomas Archbishop of York, just as his predecessor had done.[30] William of Malmesbury, a medieval chronicler, accused Ranulf of paying 1,000 pounds for the bishopric.[31]

It has been suggested that Ranulf may have been the first Justiciar of all England (or chief justiciar),[32] although he never held the title and it is not clear if his power was as extensive as Roger of Salisbury in the following reign.[33] He ran the government of England while Rufus was fighting in Normandy, not only raising money, but issuing writs and judging court cases.[34] William of Malmesbury in describing Ranulf's financial efforts said that he "skinned the rich, ground the down the poor, and swept other men's inheritances into his net."[35]Another medieval chronicler, Orderic Vitalis, said that Ranulf planned to revise the survey of England, almost certainly Domesday Book, and that he planned to use that revised survey to confiscate all excess holdings over a certain amount. If this was really planned, it was never carried out.[13]

Ranulf often worked in concert with Haimo the dapifer, or seneschal, and Urse d'Abetot in carrying out royal judgements. On one occasion, they, along with Robert Bloet Bishop of Lincoln, reassessed the lands of the Abbey of Thorney for taxes. On another occasion, they were ordered along with Ralph de Luffa Bishop of Chichester to see that the abbey of Fecamp received custody of a church at Steyning.[36] Others who often worked with Ranulf were Robert FitzHaimo, Roger Bigod, and Eudo the dapifer. These men are sometimes considered by historians to be the first Barons of the Exchequer.[5] There are also signs during Ranulf's administration of resident justices in the counties who held courts for the king. Itinerant justices were probably also used to hear pleas that were reserved to the crown.[37][38]

While administering England for Rufus, Ranulf also supervised construction projects. Under his management, the first stone bridge in London was constructed. Ranulf also built an wall around the White Tower in London, enclosing the inner ward. A new hall at Westminster was also built,[39] of which the outside walls of Westminster Hall are still surviving.[40]

[edit] Under Henry I

Entrance to Durham Cathedral
Entrance to Durham Cathedral

At the succession of King Henry I, the new king imprisoned Ranulf in the Tower of London[41] on August 15, 1100[42] on charges of embezzlement.[43] His custodian, William de Mandeville, allowed the bishop to escape[44] on February 3, 1101.[45] Flambard was not only the first inmate of the prison, but also the first person to escape from it.[46][47] A popular legend represents the bishop as descending from the window of his cell by a rope which friends had smuggled to him in a flagon of wine. Ranulf gave the wine to his guards, and after they were drunk and asleep, climbed down the rope to escape. His friends had arranged a ship to transport Ranulf, some of the bishop's treasure, and the bishop's elderly mother to Normandy.[48] He took refuge across the English Channel with Henry's brother Robert, Duke of Normandy, where he became one of the duke's principal advisors.[49] King Henry dispossessed Ranulf of his lands at Whitsun in 1101,[50] and the new Archbishop of York Gerard deposed him from his bishopric.[51] The Archbishop of Canterbury, Anselm arranged for Flambard's trial in a papal court for simony, and a papal decree was issued against Ranulf.[52]

As Robert's advisor, he pressed the duke to dispute Henry's claim to the crown of England.[53] The historian David Crouch says that Ranulf "had to provide the strategic vision and energy that Duke Robert lacked."[54] Ranulf was in charge of organizing transport for the duke's invasion of England,[43] and also secured the defection of some of Henry's ships, thus allowing the fleet to land safely.[55] Robert invaded England in July 1101 along with Ranulf, but Robert agreed at the Treaty of Alton on August 2, 1101 to renounce his claim to the English throne. Ranulf was pardoned in the treaty and restored to his bishopric, but he chose to stay with Robert for five more years.[53] Robert rewarded Ranulf by entrusting him with the administration of the see of Lisieux.[56] After Robert's defeat by Henry at Tinchebray in 1106, the bishop was among the first to make his peace with Henry, and returned to Durham.[57] He retired from political life. Henry had already replaced him with Roger of Salisbury an able financier who was infinitely more acceptable to the nation.[4]

In 1108, Ranulf was dragged into the middle of the ongoing dispute between Archbishop Anselm and the newly appointed Archbishop of York, Thomas over whether or not Thomas should profess obedience to Anselm. Because Anselm refused to consecrate Thomas without a profession, and Thomas refused to profess, Thomas was unable to consecrate bishops himself. Ranulf wrote to Anselm, asking that he might act as Thomas' surrogate and consecrate Thurgot as Bishop of St Andrew's. In September 1108, Anselm wrote to Ranulf forbidding anyone but Thomas or Anselm himself to consecrate Thurgot or any other bishops.[58] Later, Ranulf tried to bribe King Henry to take Thomas' side.[59] Thurgot had been prior of the cathedral chapter at Durham, but had disagreed with Ranulf, who arranged for him to be elected to St Andrew's as a solution to the quarrel.[60]

It was Ranulf who ordained Thurstan, the archbishop-elect of York, as a priest in 1115, although Thurstan had to wait for consecration as bishop for another four years.[13][61] Ranulf attended the Council of Rheims in 1119 held by Pope Callixtus II.[62] In 1125 John of Crema, the papal legate to England, visited Durham to investigate charges against the bishop. Medieval chroniclers told the story that the legate was much taken with Ranulf's niece, and after sleeping with the girl, took no action on the charges against Ranulf.[63] The story is unlikely to be true.[64]

[edit] Death and legacy

Modern view from Durham Cathedral looking towards Durham Castle across Palace Green.
Modern view from Durham Cathedral looking towards Durham Castle across Palace Green.

Ranulf worked to complete the cathedral[13] which his predecessor, William de St-Calais, had begun;[65] fortified Durham with a wall around Durham Castle.[39] built Norham Castle to help defend the Tweed River;[66][67] and endowed the collegiate church of Christchurch, Hampshire. He built or expanded other churches, including the one at Christchurch in Hampshire which he had endowed, and also St. Martin's in Dover.[68] He also built the first stone bridge at Durham in 1120, the so-called Framwellgate Bridge,[13] a bridge described as "of wonderful workmanship."[69] He also cleared and leveled the Palace Green in Durham between the castle and the cathedral.[39] While the chroniclers mainly condemned Ranulf for his morals, his own cathedral chapter held him in high esteem because of his building activities and his defense of the rights of Durham.[70] He attracted scholars to his household, and reformed the administration of the diocese, by dividing it into archdeaconries.[4] Ranulf oversaw the translation of Saint Cuthbert's relics to a new tomb in a lavish ceremony. He was also a patron to the hermit Saint Godric, whom he befriended.[71]

One of Ranulf's brothers was Fulcher, who was Bishop of Lisieux in 1101.[72][73] Another brother was Osbern, who was a royal clerk for Rufus,[17] and the last brother was Geoffrey.[3] Fulcher may have been appointed bishop to enable Ranulf to exploit the see while Ranulf was in exile in Normandy.[74] Ranulf had a son, Thomas, who also held the see of Lisieux,[72] right after his uncle. Like his uncle, he may have been appointed as a placeholder to allow his father to appropriate the revenues of Lisieux.[74] Ranulf's mistress was an Englishwoman named Alveva or Ælfgifu, who was the mother of at least two of his sons, one of whom is unnamed. When Ranulf became bishop, he married her to a burgess of Huntingdon, but remained on good terms with both Alveva and her spouse, often staying with them when he traveled away from Durham.[3][75] Alveva was the aunt of Christina of Markyate, and Christina is said to have rebuffed the bishop's attempts to seduce her in 1114.[3][76] Another of Ranulf's sons was Elias, who held a prebend at London and was a royal clerk under Henry I. Ranulf's son Ralf was parson of Middleham and also held a prebend at London. He was a member of Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury's household after 1138.[3] Some of Ranulf's sons were educated at Laon under William de Corbeil, who was one of Ranulf's clerks.[77] One of Ranulf's nephews, Ralf, was archdeacon of Northumberland and during the reign of King Stephen helped to hold the diocese of Durham loyal to Stephen.[78] Other nephews were Osbert, who was sheriff of Durham, and Robert, Richard, and William who held fiefs.[3] Unrelated to Ranulf, William of Corbeil became one of Ranulf's household clerks, and was eventually to be elected Archbishop of Canterbury in 1123.[71]

Ranulf died on September 5, 1128.[28] He was buried in his chapter house in Durham, where his tomb was opened in 1874.[13] His skeleton is still extant, and examination of it reveals that he would have been about 5-foot-9-inch (1.8 m) tall. He was fond of clothes and was always richly dressed. While he was efficient in collecting the royal revenues, he was generous to his own men, and later in life gave liberally to the poor. His crozier and signet ring were found in his grave, and they were rather plain.[3]

Ranulf's reputation has suffered because of the hostility of the monastic chroniclers to both himself and to Rufus.[4] Many chroniclers decried his financial ruthlessness and his lax morals.[3][79] Besides the chroniclers, Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury wrote to Pope Paschal II, while Ranulf was in exile, describing Ranulf as "a rent collector of the worst possible reputation."[80] Victorian historians, including E. A. Freeman, vilified Ranulf, and Freeman especially held that Ranulf was a "malignant genius".[13][81] Modern historians have embraced a more moderate view, starting with Richard Southern in 1933.[13]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Barlow Feudal Kingdom of England Fourth Edition p. 147
  2. ^ a b Poole Domesday Book to Magna Carta Second Edition pp. 170-171
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barlow William Rufus pp. 193-205
  4. ^ a b c d e Barlow Feudal Kingdom of England Fourth Edition pp. 150-151
  5. ^ a b c Mason William II p. 75
  6. ^ Barlow William Rufus p. 141
  7. ^ Chibnall Anglo-Norman England p. 115
  8. ^ Chibnall Anglo-Norman England p. 114
  9. ^ Mason William II p. 23
  10. ^ Mason William II pp. 85-86
  11. ^ Chibnall Anglo-Norman England p. 127
  12. ^ Chibnall Anglo-Norman England p. 133
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mason "Flambard, Ranulf (c.1060–1128)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  14. ^ The second son, Richard, had died about 1075 without children Mason William II p. 36
  15. ^ a b c Mason William II pp. 178-179
  16. ^ Greenway Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: volume 2: Monastic cathedrals (northern and southern provinces): Durham: Bishops
  17. ^ a b Barlow William Rufus p. 147
  18. ^ Lyon Constitutional and Legal History of Medieval England p. 153
  19. ^ Barlow William Rufus p. 150
  20. ^ Chrimes Introduction to the Administrative History of Mediaeval England p. 20
  21. ^ Huscroft Ruling England p. 66
  22. ^ Cantor Church, Kingship, and Lay Investiture p. 63
  23. ^ Knowles The Monastic Order in England pp. 612-613
  24. ^ Mason William II p. 137
  25. ^ Huscroft Ruling England p. 99
  26. ^ Hollister Henry I p. 381
  27. ^ Among which were Chertsey, Canterbury, and New Minster. Knowles Monastic Order p. 613 footnote3
  28. ^ a b Fryde Handbook of British Chronology p. 241
  29. ^ Barlow William Rufus p. 359
  30. ^ Vaughn Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan p. 329 footnote 83
  31. ^ Bartlett England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings p. 407
  32. ^ Barlow William Rufus p. 202
  33. ^ Richardson The Governance of Mediaeval England p. 159
  34. ^ Huscroft Ruling England p. 83
  35. ^ Quoted in Huscroft Ruling England pp. 125-123
  36. ^ Stenton English Justice pp. 58-59
  37. ^ Lyon Constitutional and Legal History of Medieval England pp. 168-169
  38. ^ Lyon Constitutional and Legal History of Medieval England pp. 190-191
  39. ^ a b c Barlow The Feudal Kingdom of England Fourth Edition pp. 167-168
  40. ^ Crouch The Normans caption to plate 22
  41. ^ Huscroft Ruling England p. 68
  42. ^ Cantor Church, Kingship, and Lay Investiture p. 134
  43. ^ a b Vaughn Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan p. 229
  44. ^ Chibnall Anglo-Norman England p. 75
  45. ^ Poole Domesday Book to Magna Carta Second Edition p. 115
  46. ^ Hollister Henry I pp. 116-117, pp. 133-134
  47. ^ Ranulf Flambard, Bishop of Durham. Historic Royal Palaces. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
  48. ^ Crouch The Normans p. 170
  49. ^ Huscroft Ruling England p. 69
  50. ^ Vaughn Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan p. 231
  51. ^ Hollister Henry I p. 136
  52. ^ Vaughn Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan p. 234
  53. ^ a b Barlow Feudal Kingdom of England Fourth Edition pp. 174-175
  54. ^ Quoted in Crouch The Normans p. 165
  55. ^ Crouch The Normans p. 171
  56. ^ Vaughn Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan p. 269
  57. ^ Crouch The Normans p. 179
  58. ^ Vaughn Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan p. 337
  59. ^ Vaughn Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan pp. 347-348
  60. ^ Knowles The Monastic Order in England p. 629
  61. ^ Thurstan also refused to profess obedience to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was now Ralph d'Escures. Bartlett England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings p. 394
  62. ^ Barlow The English Church 1066-1154 p. 111
  63. ^ Bartlett England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings p. 555
  64. ^ Hollister Henry I p. 307
  65. ^ Adams A History of Western Art Third Edition p. 200
  66. ^ Pettifer English Castles p. 193
  67. ^ Bartlett England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings p. 281
  68. ^ Poole Domesday Book to Magna Carta Second Edition p. 260
  69. ^ Bartlett England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings p. 364
  70. ^ Chibnall Anglo-Norman England p. 71
  71. ^ a b Barlow The English Church 1066-1154 pp. 73-74
  72. ^ a b Spear "The Norman Empire and the Secular Clergy" Journal of British Studies p. 5
  73. ^ Fulcher's name has sometimes been given as William. Schriber The Dilemma of Arnulf of Lisieux p. 26
  74. ^ a b Schriber The Dilemma of Arnulf of Lisieux pp. 26-27
  75. ^ Bartlett England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings p. 567
  76. ^ Richardson The Governance of Mediaeval England p. 159 footnote7
  77. ^ Hollister Henry I p. 23
  78. ^ Barlow Feudal Kingdom of England Fourth Edition p. 221
  79. ^ Barlow The English Church 1066-1154 p. 72
  80. ^ Quoted in Vaughn Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan p. 239
  81. ^ Quoted in Mason "Flambard, Ranulf (c.1060–1128)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

  • Craster, H. H. E. "A Contemporary Record of the Pontificate of Ranulf Flambard" Archaeologica Æliana Fourth Series Vol. 7 1930 p. 33-56
  • Prestwich, J. O. "The Career of Ranulf Flambard" in Rollason et al Anglo-Norman Durham 1093-1193 Woodbridge: Boydell Press 1994 p. 299-310
  • Southern, Richard W. "Ranulf Flambard and the Early Anglo-Norman Administration" Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 4th series vol. 16 1933 p. 95-128
Roman Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
William de St-Calais		 Bishop of Durham
1099–1128		 Succeeded by
Geoffrey Rufus
Persondata
NAME Flambard, Ranulf
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Flambard, Ralph; Flambard, Ranulph; Passiflamme, Ranulf
SHORT DESCRIPTION Bishop of Durham, Lord Chancellor of England
DATE OF BIRTH
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH September 5, 1128
PLACE OF DEATH