Ranulf Flambard
Encyclopedia
Ranulf Flambard was a medieval Norman
Bishop of Durham and an influential government minister of King William Rufus
of England. Ranulf 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.
Ranulf was a Norman 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. Originally he worked for Odo of Bayeux, but he soon entered the chancery
of King William I, Odo's half-brother. He stood out amongst the other clerks for his intelligence and his good looks. His nickname, Flambard, means torch-bearer, incendiary or devouring flame; and may have been given to him for his high-spirited personality. 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. Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury
told the pope that the nickname came from Ranulf's cruelty, which Anselm likened to a consuming flame. Orderic went on to claim that Ranulf was "educated from boyhood with base parasites among the hangers-on of the court".
Ranulf acquired the reputation of an able financier and administrator, and helped to increase the royal revenues. He appears to have played an important part in the compilation of the Domesday survey, perhaps even the main orchestrator of the project. Domesday Book gives his profession as clerk, and records him holding land in a number of counties. 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. His work in the chancery and as an administrator would have required knowledge of Latin. 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. 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. When King William died and his lands were split between his elder son Robert Curthose, who received Normandy, and the third son, William Rufus, who received England, Ranulf chose to serve Rufus in England.
Before the death of William the Conqueror, Ranulf held a prebend
in the diocese of Salisbury
. 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. He was still keeper of the king's seal, and also may have been in charge of the royal scriptorium
. He is usually described as the chaplain of Rufus, but he is also called treasurer and sometimes capitalis justicaiarius. Other times his role is given the title procurator. William of Malmesbury calls him the "manager of the whole kingdom".
At Christchurch, he reduced the number of canons serving the church from 25 to 13, through not replacing clerks who died. Ranulf kept the revenues that would have gone to the missing canons and used it to rebuild the church. Some medieval sources claim that in rebuilding the church at Twynham, he not only demolished the church he was replacing, but nine others that were nearby.
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. 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 shilling
s that each man had been given by their district for maintenance. Ranulf then spent the money on mercenaries. Ranulf also actively pressed lawsuits, including bringing suit against Anselm on the day of Anselm's consecration as Archbishop of Canterbury
. 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. 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. This attempt was not repeated, however.
He administered for the king a large proportion of the vacant ecclesiastical offices. He personally managed sixteen abbeys or bishoprics. Eventually he obtained the wealthy see of Durham for himself in May 1099, being consecrated on 5 June 1099. He had been the custodian of the see since the death of the previous bishop in early 1096. At his consecration, he managed to avoid giving a profession of obedience to Thomas the Archbishop of York
, just as his predecessor had done. William of Malmesbury
, a medieval chronicler, accused Ranulf of paying 1,000 pounds
for the bishopric. He was given ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Carlisle and Cumbria, because his predecessors had done so as bishops of Lindisfarne, but he only exercised this for a short time, as after the accession of Henry I jurisdiction over these areas was transferred to the diocese of York.
It has been suggested that Ranulf may have been the first Justiciar of all England (or chief justiciar), 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. He ran the government of England while Rufus was fighting in Normandy, not only raising money, but issuing writ
s and judging court cases. 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." 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.
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
the Bishop of Lincoln
, reassessed the lands of Thorney Abbey
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
. 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
. 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.
While administering England for Rufus, Ranulf also supervised construction projects. Under his management, the first stone bridge in London was constructed. Ranulf also built a wall around the White Tower
in London, enclosing the inner ward. A new hall at Westminster was also built, of which the outside walls of Westminster Hall are still surviving. He started building the church at Christchurch at Twynham, which he had been granted by Rufus. After Rufus' death, the church was confiscated from Ranulf, and building work ceased. The crypts and transepts of the current church, however, date from Ranulf's construction work.
At the succession of King Henry I, the new king imprisoned Ranulf in the Tower of London on 15 August 1100 on charges of embezzlement. His custodian, William de Mandeville, allowed the bishop to escape on 3 February 1101. Flambard was not only the first inmate of the prison, but also the first person to escape from it. 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. He took refuge across the English Channel
with Henry's brother Robert Curthose, where he became one of the duke's principal advisors. King Henry dispossessed Ranulf of his lands at Whitsun
in 1101, and the new Archbishop of York Gerard deposed him from his bishopric. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Anselm arranged for Flambard's trial in a papal court for simony
, and a papal decree was issued against Ranulf.
As Robert's advisor, he pressed the duke to dispute Henry's claim to the crown of England. The historian David Crouch
says that Ranulf "had to provide the strategic vision and energy that Duke Robert lacked", and other historians have agreed that Ranulf's arrival was the catalyst to Curthose's ability to mount an invasion. Ranulf was in charge of organizing transport for the duke's invasion of England, and also secured the defection of some of Henry's ships, thus allowing the fleet to land safely. Robert invaded England in July 1101 along with Ranulf, but Robert agreed at the Treaty of Alton
on 2 August 1101 to renounce his claim to the English throne. Although no chronicler mentions Ranulf being present at Alton, he probably was there. Ranulf was pardoned in the treaty and restored to his bishopric, but he chose to stay with Robert for five more years. Some historians, including C. W. Hollister, see the treaty as mainly Ranulf's work, as mainly an attempt to salvage his ecclesiastical career in England, along with a displacement of Ranulf from being the chief councillor of Curthose to merely being one of many.
Robert rewarded Ranulf for his advice during the invasion by entrusting him with the administration of the see of Lisieux. 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. 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. Although some historians have theorized that Ranulf's time in Normandy was as an agent of Henry, it appears that Ranulf was mainly looking out for his own interests and those of his family.
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. Later, Ranulf tried to bribe King Henry to take Thomas' side. 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.
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. Ranulf attended the Council of Reims in 1119 held by Pope Callixtus II
. 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. The story is unlikely to be true.
Ranulf worked to complete the cathedral
which his predecessor, William de St-Calais, had begun; fortified Durham with a wall around Durham Castle
, built Norham Castle
to help defend the Tweed River
; 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 St. Martin's in Dover
. The first stone bridge at Durham was completed by his instruction in 1120, the so-called Framwellgate Bridge
, a bridge described as "of wonderful workmanship." He cleared and leveled the Palace Green in Durham between the castle and the cathedral. 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. Although he usurped some of the income of the cathedral chapter, the money from those rights was used to complete the cathedral rebuilding, and later restored the income to the monks as well as increasing the endowment. At his death, the cathedral walls were complete up to "the covering", which probably means the vault instead of the roof.
Flambard attracted scholars to his household, and reformed the administration of the diocese, by dividing it into archdeaconries. 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.
One of Ranulf's brothers was Fulcher
, who was Bishop of Lisieux in 1101. Another brother was Osbern, who was a royal clerk for Rufus, and the last brother was Geoffrey. Fulcher may have been appointed bishop to enable Ranulf to exploit the see while Ranulf was in exile in Normandy. Ranulf had a son, Thomas, who also held the see of Lisieux, 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. Ranulf's mistress was an Englishwoman named Alveva or Ælfgifu, who was the mother of at least two of his sons. Alveva's sons were Ranulf, who was an archdeacon, and Elias. 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. Alveva was the aunt of Christina of Markyate
, and Christina is said to have rebuffed the bishop's attempts to seduce her in 1114. Alveva and Ranulf's son Elias held a prebend at London and was a royal clerk under Henry I. Ranulf's son Ralf was parson of Middleham and held a prebend at London too. He was a member of Archbishop Theobald
of Canterbury's household after 1138. Some of Ranulf's sons were educated at Laon under William de Corbeil
, who was one of Ranulf's clerks. 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. Other nephews were Osbert, who was sheriff of Durham, and Robert, Richard, and William who held fiefs. Unrelated to Ranulf, William of Corbeil became one of Ranulf's household clerks, and was eventually to be elected Archbishop of Canterbury in 1123.
Ranulf died on 5 September 1128. He was buried in his chapter house in Durham, where his tomb was opened in 1874. His skeleton is still extant, and examination of it reveals that he would have been about 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. An oddity of his grave was that he was buried on top of a layer of charcoal that was laid over alternating layers of lime and dirt.
Ranulf's reputation has suffered because of the hostility of the monastic chroniclers to both himself and to Rufus. Many chroniclers decried his financial ruthlessness and his lax morals. Orderic described Ranulf's career as "addicted to feasts and carousals and lusts; cruel and ambitious, prodigal to his own adherents, but rapacious in seizing the goods of other men". 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." William of Malmesbury said that Flambard was a "plunderer of the rich, destroyer of the poor". Victorian historians, including E. A. Freeman
, vilified Ranulf, and Freeman especially held that Ranulf was a "malignant genius". Modern historians have embraced a more moderate view, starting with Richard Southern
in 1933. The historian David Bates felt that he, along with his successor Roger of Salisbury, "were essentially the chief managers of the king's finance and justice".
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
Bishop of Durham and an influential government minister of King William Rufus
William II of England
William II , the third son of William I of England, was King of England from 1087 until 1100, with powers over Normandy, and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales...
of England. Ranulf was the son of a priest of Bayeux
Bayeux
Bayeux is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France.Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England.-Administration:Bayeux is a sub-prefecture of Calvados...
, Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, 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
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
, probably in the compilation of the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, 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
Justiciar
In medieval England and Ireland the Chief Justiciar was roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister as the monarch's chief minister. Similar positions existed on the Continent, particularly in Norman Italy. The term is the English form of the medieval Latin justiciarius or justitiarius In...
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
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
. 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
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
by Rufus' successor Henry I of England
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
. 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
Duke of Normandy
The Duke of Normandy is the title of the reigning monarch of the British Crown Dependancies of the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey. The title traces its roots to the Duchy of Normandy . Whether the reigning sovereign is a male or female, they are always titled as the "Duke of...
. 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
Battle of Tinchebray
The Battle of Tinchebray was fought 28 September 1106, in the town of Tinchebray , Normandy, between an invading force led by Henry I of England, and his older brother Robert Curthose, the Duke of Normandy...
. 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.
Early life
Chancery (medieval office)
Chancery is a general term for a medieval writing office, responsible for the production of official documents. The title of chancellor, for the head of the office, came to be held by important ministers in a number of states, and remains the title of the heads of government in modern Germany,...
of King William I, Odo's half-brother. He stood out amongst the other clerks for his intelligence and his good looks. His nickname, Flambard, means torch-bearer, incendiary or devouring flame; and may have been given to him for his high-spirited personality. Orderic Vitalis
Orderic Vitalis
Orderic Vitalis was an English chronicler of Norman ancestry who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th and 12th century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. The modern biographer of Henry I of England, C...
, 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. Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm of Canterbury , also called of Aosta for his birthplace, and of Bec for his home monastery, was a Benedictine monk, a philosopher, and a prelate of the church who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109...
told the pope that the nickname came from Ranulf's cruelty, which Anselm likened to a consuming flame. Orderic went on to claim that Ranulf was "educated from boyhood with base parasites among the hangers-on of the court".
Ranulf acquired the reputation of an able financier and administrator, and helped to increase the royal revenues. He appears to have played an important part in the compilation of the Domesday survey, perhaps even the main orchestrator of the project. Domesday Book gives his profession as clerk, and records him holding land in a number of counties. Before the death of the old king he became chaplain to Maurice, Bishop of London
Bishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
, 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. His work in the chancery and as an administrator would have required knowledge of Latin. He also served as the keeper of the king's seal from about 1085. Once, while he was traveling in the Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
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. 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. When King William died and his lands were split between his elder son Robert Curthose, who received Normandy, and the third son, William Rufus, who received England, Ranulf chose to serve Rufus in England.
Work under Rufus
Prebendary
A prebendary is a post connected to an Anglican or Catholic cathedral or collegiate church and is a type of canon. Prebendaries have a role in the administration of the cathedral...
in the diocese of Salisbury
Diocese of Salisbury
The Diocese of Salisbury is a Church of England diocese in the south of England. The diocese covers Dorset and most of Wiltshire and is a constituent diocese of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Salisbury and the diocesan synod...
. Early in the reign of Rufus he held the offices of dean
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
of Christchurch in Twynham, Hampshire
Christchurch, Dorset
Christchurch is a borough and town in the county of Dorset on the south coast of England. The town adjoins Bournemouth in the west and the New Forest lies to the east. Historically in Hampshire, it joined Dorset with the reorganisation of local government in 1974 and is the most easterly borough in...
and was a prebendary of London and Lincoln. He was still keeper of the king's seal, and also may have been in charge of the royal scriptorium
Scriptorium
Scriptorium, literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the copying of manuscripts by monastic scribes...
. He is usually described as the chaplain of Rufus, but he is also called treasurer and sometimes capitalis justicaiarius. Other times his role is given the title procurator. William of Malmesbury calls him the "manager of the whole kingdom".
At Christchurch, he reduced the number of canons serving the church from 25 to 13, through not replacing clerks who died. Ranulf kept the revenues that would have gone to the missing canons and used it to rebuild the church. Some medieval sources claim that in rebuilding the church at Twynham, he not only demolished the church he was replacing, but nine others that were nearby.
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. 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 shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s that each man had been given by their district for maintenance. Ranulf then spent the money on mercenaries. Ranulf also actively pressed lawsuits, including bringing suit against Anselm on the day of Anselm's consecration as Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
. 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. 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. This attempt was not repeated, however.
He administered for the king a large proportion of the vacant ecclesiastical offices. He personally managed sixteen abbeys or bishoprics. Eventually he obtained the wealthy see of Durham for himself in May 1099, being consecrated on 5 June 1099. He had been the custodian of the see since the death of the previous bishop in early 1096. At his consecration, he managed to avoid giving a profession of obedience to Thomas the Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
, just as his predecessor had done. William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
, a medieval chronicler, accused Ranulf of paying 1,000 pounds
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
for the bishopric. He was given ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Carlisle and Cumbria, because his predecessors had done so as bishops of Lindisfarne, but he only exercised this for a short time, as after the accession of Henry I jurisdiction over these areas was transferred to the diocese of York.
It has been suggested that Ranulf may have been the first Justiciar of all England (or chief justiciar), although he never held the title and it is not clear if his power was as extensive as Roger of Salisbury
Roger of Salisbury
Roger was a Norman medieval Bishop of Salisbury and the seventh Lord Chancellor and Lord Keeper of England.-Life:...
in the following reign. He ran the government of England while Rufus was fighting in Normandy, not only raising money, but issuing writ
Writ
In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court...
s and judging court cases. 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." 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.
Ranulf often worked in concert with Haimo
Haimo (dapifer)
Haimo or Hamo was an Anglo-Norman royal official under both King William I of England and King William II of England. He held the office of dapifer, or seneschal, as well as the office of Sheriff of Kent.Haimo was the son of Haimo Dentatus, a Norman lord who held Torigny-sur-Vire near Manche in...
the dapifer
Seneschal
A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
, or seneschal, and Urse d'Abetot
Urse d'Abetot
Urse d'Abetot was a Norman as well as a medieval Sheriff of Worcestershire and royal official under Kings William I, William II and Henry I...
in carrying out royal judgements. On one occasion, they, along with Robert Bloet
Robert Bloet
Robert Bloet was a medieval English bishop and a Chancellor of England. Born into a noble Norman family, he became a royal clerk under King William I of England. Under William I's son and successor King William II, Bloet was first named chancellor then appointed to the see of Lincoln...
the Bishop of Lincoln
Bishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral...
, reassessed the lands of Thorney Abbey
Thorney Abbey
Thorney Abbey was on the island of Thorney in The Fens of Cambridgeshire, England.- History :The earliest documentary sources refer to a mid-7th century hermitage destroyed by a Viking incursion in the late 9th century. A Benedictine monastery was founded in the 970s, and a huge rebuilding...
for taxes. On another occasion, they were ordered along with Ralph de Luffa
Ralph de Luffa
Ralph de Luffa was an English bishop of Chichester, from 1091 to 1123. He built extensively on his cathedral as well as being praised by contemporary writers as an exemplary bishop. He took little part in the Investiture Crisis which took place in England during his episcopate...
Bishop of Chichester
Bishop of Chichester
The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the Counties of East and West Sussex. The see is in the City of Chichester where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity...
to see that the abbey of Fecamp received custody of a church at Steyning
Steyning
Steyning is a small town and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the north end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, four miles north of Shoreham-by-Sea...
. Others who often worked with Ranulf were Robert FitzHaimo, Roger Bigod
Roger Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk
Roger Bigod was a Norman knight who came to England in the Norman Conquest. He held great power in East Anglia, and five of his descendants were Earl of Norfolk. He was also known as Roger Bigot, appearing as such as a witness to the Charter of Liberties of Henry I of England.-Biography:Roger came...
, and Eudo
Eudo Dapifer
Eudo Dapifer was a Norman aristocrat favoured by William the Conqueror.-Early life:Eudo was the fourth son of Hubert of Ryes, who is legendarily known as the loyal vassal who saved the life of Duke William of Normandy in his flight from Valognes during a revolt 1047. Eudo's brothers were Ralph,...
the dapifer. These men are sometimes considered by historians to be the first Barons of the Exchequer
Exchequer of pleas
The Exchequer of Pleas or Court of Exchequer was a court that followed equity, a set of legal principles based on natural law, and common law, in England and Wales. Originally part of the curia regis, or King's Council, the Exchequer of Pleas split from the curia during the 1190s, to sit as an...
. 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.
While administering England for Rufus, Ranulf also supervised construction projects. Under his management, the first stone bridge in London was constructed. Ranulf also built a wall around the White Tower
White Tower (Tower of London)
The White Tower is a central tower, the old keep, at the Tower of London.-History:The castle which later became known as the Tower of London was built by William the Conqueror in 1066. It began as a timber fortification enclosed by a palisade. In the next decade work began on the White Tower, the...
in London, enclosing the inner ward. A new hall at Westminster was also built, of which the outside walls of Westminster Hall are still surviving. He started building the church at Christchurch at Twynham, which he had been granted by Rufus. After Rufus' death, the church was confiscated from Ranulf, and building work ceased. The crypts and transepts of the current church, however, date from Ranulf's construction work.
Under Henry I
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
with Henry's brother Robert Curthose, where he became one of the duke's principal advisors. King Henry dispossessed Ranulf of his lands at Whitsun
Whitsun
Whitsun is the name used in the UK for the Christian festival of Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples...
in 1101, and the new Archbishop of York Gerard deposed him from his bishopric. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Anselm arranged for Flambard's trial in a papal court for simony
Simony
Simony is the act of paying for sacraments and consequently for holy offices or for positions in the hierarchy of a church, named after Simon Magus , who appears in the Acts of the Apostles 8:9-24...
, and a papal decree was issued against Ranulf.
As Robert's advisor, he pressed the duke to dispute Henry's claim to the crown of England. The historian David Crouch
David Crouch (historian)
David Crouch is an English historian, and Professor of Medieval History at the University of Hull. Crouch's main focus is on the social and political history of the period from 1000 to 1300, primarily in England...
says that Ranulf "had to provide the strategic vision and energy that Duke Robert lacked", and other historians have agreed that Ranulf's arrival was the catalyst to Curthose's ability to mount an invasion. Ranulf was in charge of organizing transport for the duke's invasion of England, and also secured the defection of some of Henry's ships, thus allowing the fleet to land safely. Robert invaded England in July 1101 along with Ranulf, but Robert agreed at the Treaty of Alton
Treaty of Alton
The Treaty of Alton was an agreement signed in 1101 between Henry I of England and his older brother Robert, Duke of Normandy in which Robert agreed to recognize Henry as king of England in exchange for a yearly stipend and other concessions...
on 2 August 1101 to renounce his claim to the English throne. Although no chronicler mentions Ranulf being present at Alton, he probably was there. Ranulf was pardoned in the treaty and restored to his bishopric, but he chose to stay with Robert for five more years. Some historians, including C. W. Hollister, see the treaty as mainly Ranulf's work, as mainly an attempt to salvage his ecclesiastical career in England, along with a displacement of Ranulf from being the chief councillor of Curthose to merely being one of many.
Robert rewarded Ranulf for his advice during the invasion by entrusting him with the administration of the see of Lisieux. 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. 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. Although some historians have theorized that Ranulf's time in Normandy was as an agent of Henry, it appears that Ranulf was mainly looking out for his own interests and those of his family.
In 1108, Ranulf was dragged into the middle of the ongoing dispute between Archbishop Anselm and the newly appointed Archbishop of York, Thomas
Thomas II of York
Thomas was a medieval archbishop of York. To distinguish him from his uncle, also a Thomas who was archbishop of York, Thomas is usually known as Thomas II or Thomas the Younger.-Life:...
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
Thurgot
Thorgaut or Turgot was Archdeacon and Prior of Durham, and the first English or Anglo-Norman Bishop of Saint Andrews ....
as Bishop of St Andrew's
Archbishop of St Andrews
The Bishop of St. Andrews was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews and then, as Archbishop of St Andrews , the Archdiocese of St Andrews.The name St Andrews is not the town or church's original name...
. In September 1108, Anselm wrote to Ranulf forbidding anyone but Thomas or Anselm himself to consecrate Thurgot or any other bishops. Later, Ranulf tried to bribe King Henry to take Thomas' side. Thurgot had been prior of the cathedral chapter
Cathedral chapter
In accordance with canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese in his stead. These councils are made up of canons and dignitaries; in the Roman Catholic church their...
at Durham, but had disagreed with Ranulf, who arranged for him to be elected to St Andrew's as a solution to the quarrel.
It was Ranulf who ordained Thurstan
Thurstan
Thurstan or Turstin of Bayeux was a medieval Archbishop of York, the son of a priest. He served kings William II and Henry I of England before his election to the see of York in 1114. Once elected, his consecration was delayed for five years while he fought attempts by the Archbishop of Canterbury...
, the archbishop-elect of York, as a priest in 1115, although Thurstan had to wait for consecration as bishop for another four years. Ranulf attended the Council of Reims in 1119 held by Pope Callixtus II
Pope Callixtus II
Pope Calixtus II , born Guy de Vienne, the fourth son of William I, Count of Burgundy , was elected Pope on February 1, 1119, after the death of Pope Gelasius II . His pontificate was shaped by the Investiture Controversy, which he was able to settle through the Concordat of Worms...
. In 1125 John of Crema
John of Crema
John of Crema was an Italian papal legate and Cardinal. He was a close supporter of Pope Callistus II.-Legate:He undertook a significant papal mission to Henry I of England in 1124-5, sent by Callistus and confirmed by his successor Pope Honorius II...
, 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. The story is unlikely to be true.
Death and legacy
Durham Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham is a cathedral in the city of Durham, England, the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Durham. The Bishopric dates from 995, with the present cathedral being founded in AD 1093...
which his predecessor, William de St-Calais, had begun; fortified Durham with a wall around Durham Castle
Durham Castle
Durham Castle is a Norman castle in the city of Durham, England, which has been wholly occupied since 1840 by University College, Durham. It is open to the general public to visit, but only through guided tours, since it is in use as a working building and is home to over 100 students...
, built Norham Castle
Norham Castle
Norham Castle is a partly ruined castle in Northumberland, England, overlooking the River Tweed, on the border between England and Scotland. It is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument...
to help defend the Tweed River
River Tweed
The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, is long and flows primarily through the Borders region of Great Britain. It rises on Tweedsmuir at Tweed's Well near where the Clyde, draining northwest, and the Annan draining south also rise. "Annan, Tweed and Clyde rise oot the ae hillside" as the Border saying...
; 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 St. Martin's in Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
. The first stone bridge at Durham was completed by his instruction in 1120, the so-called Framwellgate Bridge
Framwellgate Bridge
Framwellgate Bridge is a mediaeval masonry arch bridge across the River Wear, in Durham, England. It is a Grade I listed building. The bridge was constructed in the early twelfth century on the orders of Bishop Ranulf Flambard....
, a bridge described as "of wonderful workmanship." He cleared and leveled the Palace Green in Durham between the castle and the cathedral. 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. Although he usurped some of the income of the cathedral chapter, the money from those rights was used to complete the cathedral rebuilding, and later restored the income to the monks as well as increasing the endowment. At his death, the cathedral walls were complete up to "the covering", which probably means the vault instead of the roof.
Flambard attracted scholars to his household, and reformed the administration of the diocese, by dividing it into archdeaconries. Ranulf oversaw the translation of Saint Cuthbert
Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
Saint Cuthbert was an Anglo-Saxon monk, bishop and hermit associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Northumbria, at that time including, in modern terms, northern England as well as south-eastern Scotland as far as the Firth of Forth...
's relics to a new tomb in a lavish ceremony. He was also a patron to the hermit Saint Godric
Godric of Finchale
Saint Godric of Finchale was an English hermit, merchant and popular medieval saint, although he was never formally canonized. He was born in Walpole in Norfolk and died in Finchale in County Durham, England....
, whom he befriended.
One of Ranulf's brothers was Fulcher
Fulcher
Fulcher is a surname shared by the following people:*Bill Fulcher, American Football head coach*Byron Fulcher, trombonist*Colin Fulcher, aka Barney Bubbles, a graphic artist*David Fulcher, a former American Football player...
, who was Bishop of Lisieux in 1101. Another brother was Osbern, who was a royal clerk for Rufus, and the last brother was Geoffrey. Fulcher may have been appointed bishop to enable Ranulf to exploit the see while Ranulf was in exile in Normandy. Ranulf had a son, Thomas, who also held the see of Lisieux, 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. Ranulf's mistress was an Englishwoman named Alveva or Ælfgifu, who was the mother of at least two of his sons. Alveva's sons were Ranulf, who was an archdeacon, and Elias. When Ranulf became bishop, he married her to a burgess of Huntingdon
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was chartered by King John in 1205. It is the traditional county town of Huntingdonshire, and is currently the seat of the Huntingdonshire district council. It is known as the birthplace in 1599 of Oliver Cromwell.-History:Huntingdon...
, but remained on good terms with both Alveva and her spouse, often staying with them when he traveled away from Durham. Alveva was the aunt of Christina of Markyate
Christina of Markyate
Christina of Markyate was born in Huntingdon, England c. 1095–1100, and died perhaps after 1155. As a young girl or adolescent, named Theodora, she took a vow of chastity, so her parents' attempts to force her unwillingly into marriage led her to run away from home and go into hiding under the care...
, and Christina is said to have rebuffed the bishop's attempts to seduce her in 1114. Alveva and Ranulf's son Elias held a prebend at London and was a royal clerk under Henry I. Ranulf's son Ralf was parson of Middleham and held a prebend at London too. He was a member of Archbishop Theobald
Theobald of Bec
Theobald was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1139 to 1161. He was a Norman; his exact birth date is unknown. Some time in the late 11th or early 12th century Theobald became a monk at the Abbey of Bec, rising to the position of abbot in 1137. King Stephen of England chose him to be Archbishop of...
of Canterbury's household after 1138. Some of Ranulf's sons were educated at Laon under William de Corbeil
William de Corbeil
William de Corbeil or William of Corbeil was a medieval Archbishop of Canterbury. Very little is known of William's early life or his family, except that he was born at Corbeil in the outskirts of Paris and that he had two brothers...
, who was one of Ranulf's clerks. One of Ranulf's nephews, Ralf, was archdeacon of Northumberland and during the reign of King Stephen
Stephen of England
Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...
helped to hold the diocese of Durham loyal to Stephen. Other nephews were Osbert, who was sheriff of Durham, and Robert, Richard, and William who held fiefs. Unrelated to Ranulf, William of Corbeil became one of Ranulf's household clerks, and was eventually to be elected Archbishop of Canterbury in 1123.
Ranulf died on 5 September 1128. He was buried in his chapter house in Durham, where his tomb was opened in 1874. His skeleton is still extant, and examination of it reveals that he would have been about 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. An oddity of his grave was that he was buried on top of a layer of charcoal that was laid over alternating layers of lime and dirt.
Ranulf's reputation has suffered because of the hostility of the monastic chroniclers to both himself and to Rufus. Many chroniclers decried his financial ruthlessness and his lax morals. Orderic described Ranulf's career as "addicted to feasts and carousals and lusts; cruel and ambitious, prodigal to his own adherents, but rapacious in seizing the goods of other men". Besides the chroniclers, Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury wrote to Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II , born Ranierius, was Pope from August 13, 1099, until his death. A monk of the Cluniac order, he was created cardinal priest of the Titulus S...
, while Ranulf was in exile, describing Ranulf as "a rent collector of the worst possible reputation." William of Malmesbury said that Flambard was a "plunderer of the rich, destroyer of the poor". Victorian historians, including E. A. Freeman
Edward Augustus Freeman
Edward Augustus Freeman was an English historian. His reputation as a historian rests largely on his History of the Norman Conquest , his longest completed book...
, vilified Ranulf, and Freeman especially held that Ranulf was a "malignant genius". Modern historians have embraced a more moderate view, starting with Richard Southern
Richard Southern
Sir Richard William Southern , who published under the name R. W. Southern, was a noted English medieval historian, based at the University of Oxford.-Biography:...
in 1933. The historian David Bates felt that he, along with his successor Roger of Salisbury, "were essentially the chief managers of the king's finance and justice".