William of St. Barbara

William of St. Barbara
Bishop of Durham
See	Diocese of Durham
Elected	14 March 1143
Enthroned	circa 18 October 1144
Reign ended	13 November 1152
Predecessor	William Cumin
Successor	Hugh de Puiset
Other posts	Dean of York
Orders
Consecration	20 June 1143
Personal details
Died	13 November 1152
Buried	Durham Cathedral in the chapter house
Denomination	Catholic

William of St. Barbara or William of Ste Barbe (died 1152) was a medieval Bishop of Durham.

Life

From William's name, it is presumed that he was a native of Sainte-Barbe-en-Auge in Calvados in Normandy.^[1] He was a canon of York Minster in 1128.^[2] He was Dean of York by December of 1138.^[3]

William was elected to the see of Durham on 14 March 1143 and consecrated on 20 June 1143.^[4] He was elected in opposition to William Cumin who had been intruded into the see by King David I of Scotland in 1141. Cumin was never consecrated and by 1143 had been excommunicated by Pope Innocent II who also ordered a new election to be held at York Minster. It was this election which selected William of St. Barbara.^[5] However, the new bishop was not able to enter Durham right away,^[6] and he was enthroned either on 18 October 1144 or shortly thereafter.^[7]

Troubles continued in Durham, and the bishop was unable to attend the Council of Rheims in 1148, which led to a suspension by the pope for inattendence. William supported Henry Murdac in the disputed election to the archbishopric of York, and it was probably Murdac who arranged for the suspension to be lifted. William also supported the Cistercians and the Augustinians, which perturbed his cathedral chapter which was made up of Benedictine monks.^[1] He died 13 November 1152.^[4] A grave identified as his was excavated in the 19th century in the chapter house of Durham Cathedral.^[8]

Notes

^ ^a ^b Offler "Ste Barbe, William de (c.1080–1152)" rev. Henry Summerson, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
^ British History Online Prebends of York
^ British History Online Deans of York
^ ^a ^b Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 241
^ Crouch Reign of King Stephen p. 310
^ Barlow English Church 1066–1154 p. 97
^ British History Online Bishops of Durham
^ Carver "Early Medieval Durham" Medieval Art and Architecture at Durham Cathedral p. 13

References

British History Online Bishops of Durham accessed on 25 October 2007
British History Online Deans of York accessed on 25 October 2007
British History Online Prebends of York accessed on 25 October 2007
Carver, M. O. H. (1980). "Early Medieval Durham: the Archaeological Evidence". Medieval Art and Architecture at Durham Cathedral. British Archaeological Association Conference Transactions for the year 1977. Leeds, UK: British Archaeological Association. pp. 11–19. OCLC 13464190.
Crouch, David (2000). The Reign of King Stephen: 1135–1154. New York: Longman. ISBN 0-582-22657-0.
Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
Offler, H. S. (2004). "Ste Barbe, William de (c.1080–1152)" (Subscription or UK public library membership required). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. revised Henry Summerson. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/38128. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/38128. Retrieved 22 January 2008.

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by William Cumin	Bishop of Durham 1143–1152	Succeeded by Hugh de Puiset

Bishops and Prince-Bishops of Durham

High Medieval Bishops	Aldhun • Edmund • Eadred • Æthelric • Æthelwine

High Medieval Prince-Bishops	William Walcher • William de St-Calais • Ranulf Flambard • Geoffrey Rufus • William Cumin • William of St. Barbara • Hugh de Puiset • Philip of Poitou • Richard Poore • John de Gray • Morgan • Richard Marsh • William Scot • Richard Poore • Thomas de Melsonby • Nicholas Farnham • Walter of Kirkham • Robert Stitchill • Robert of Holy Island • Antony Bek

Late Medieval Prince-Bishops	Richard Kellaw • Lewis de Beaumont • Richard de Bury • Thomas Hatfield • John Fordham • Walter Skirlaw • Thomas Langley • Robert Neville • Lawrence Booth • William Dudley • John Sherwood • Richard Foxe

Early modern Prince-Bishops	William Senhouse • Christopher Bainbridge • Thomas Ruthall • Thomas Wolsey • Cuthbert Tunstall • James Pilkington • Richard Barnes • Matthew Hutton • Tobias Matthew • William James • Richard Neile • George Montaigne • John Howson • Thomas Morton • John Cosin • Nathaniel Crew • William Talbot • Edward Chandler • Joseph Butler • Richard Trevor • John Egerton • Thomas Thurlow • Shute Barrington • William Van Mildert

Late modern Bishops	Edward Maltby • Charles Longley • Henry Villiers • Charles Baring • Joseph Barber Lightfoot • Brooke Westcott • Handley Moule • Hensley Henson • Alwyn Williams • Michael Ramsey • Maurice Harland • Ian Ramsey • John Habgood • David Jenkins • Michael Turnbull • Tom Wright • Justin Welby

Persondata
Name	William of St Barbara
Alternative names	William of Ste Barbe
Short description	Bishop of Durham
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death	November 1152
Place of death