Arnulf of Chocques (died 1118) was a leading member of the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

during the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ...

, being made

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem ( la, Patriarchatus Latinus Hierosolymitanus) is the Latin Catholic ecclesiastical patriarchate in Jerusalem, officially seated in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was originally established in 1099, wit ...

in 1099 and again from 1112 to 1118. Sometimes referred to as Arnulf of Rœulx, presumably after the village of Rœulx some 70km from his home village of

Chocques Chocques () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Chocques is a farming village by the banks of the river Clarence, some west of Béthune and southwest of Lille, at the junction of the ...

, he was given the nickname Malecorne, meaning badly tonsured.

Biography

Arnulf was the illegitimate son of a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

, and studied under

Lanfranc Lanfranc, OSB (1005 1010 – 24 May 1089) was a celebrated Italian jurist who renounced his career to become a Benedictine monk at Bec in Normandy. He served successively as prior of Bec Abbey and abbot of St Stephen in Normandy and the ...

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in ...

to Cecilia, daughter of

William I of England William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

. He also taught

Ralph of Caen Ralph of Caen (also known as Radulphus Cadomensis) (c. 1080 – c. 1120) was a Norman chaplain and author of the '' Gesta Tancredi in expeditione Hierosolymitana'' (The Deeds of Tancred in the Crusade). Biography Ralph was born before 1080 to an ...

, one of the later

chronicler A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...

s of the

. He was also close to

Odo of Bayeux Odo of Bayeux (died 1097), Earl of Kent and Bishop of Bayeux, was the maternal half-brother of William the Conqueror, and was, for a time, second in power after the King of England. Early life Odo was the son of William the Conqueror's mother ...

, who he accompanied on the Crusade.Spear, David S. "The School of Caen Revisited" in ''The Haskins Society Journal: Studies in Medieval History'' Volume 4 ed. Robert B. Patterson Woodbridge, Suffolk:Boydell Press 1992 p. 57 He was the

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intelligence ...

of the Norman crusader army led by Robert of Normandy, Cecilia's brother and William's son. He was most likely appointed a papal legate, under the authority of the overall legate Adhemar of Le Puy, and after Adhemar's death in 1098 he shared control of the clergy with fellow legate Peter of Narbonne. Some of the non-Norman knights in the other crusader armies believed he was corrupt, and they apparently sang vulgar songs about him, but most crusaders respected him as an eloquent preacher. He was one of the chief skeptics about

Peter Bartholomew Peter Bartholomew (, died 20 April 1099) was a French soldier and mystic who was part of the First Crusade as part of the army of Raymond of Saint-Gilles. Peter was initially a servant to William, Lord of Cunhlat. Mysticism In December 1097 du ...

's claims to have discovered the

Holy Lance The Holy Lance, also known as the Lance of Longinus (named after Saint Longinus), the Spear of Destiny, or the Holy Spear, is the lance that pierced the side of Jesus as he hung on the cross during his crucifixion. Biblical references The l ...

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

, and because of Arnulf's opposition Peter volunteered to undergo an ordeal by fire. Arnulf's opposition to Peter brought him into conflict with Raymond of St. Gilles, who believed Peter's story. To help ease the crisis among the crusaders over the issue, and also to lift spirits after Peter's death during the ordeal, Arnulf helped make a statue of Christ which was placed on one of the siege engines during the siege of Jerusalem. After the capture of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

he discovered the

True Cross The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...

in the

Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, hy, Սուրբ Հարության տաճար, la, Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri, am, የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተክርስቲያን, he, כנסיית הקבר, ar, كنيسة القيامة is a church i ...

. This discovery was not as controversial as the discovery of the Lance, although it was just as suspicious. Arnulf may have been trying to make up for the problems he caused disproving the authenticity of the Lance, and the True Cross became the most sacred relic of the

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establish ...

. After Raymond left Jerusalem on 1 August 1099, Arnulf was elected

. He was supported by

Godfrey of Bouillon Godfrey of Bouillon (, , , ; 18 September 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a French nobleman and pre-eminent leader of the First Crusade. First ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100, he avoided the title of king, preferring that of princ ...

, the first ruler of Jerusalem, and in turn he supported Godfrey's decision to make Jerusalem a secular kingdom rather than one ruled by the clergy. He accompanied Godfrey in the

Battle of Ascalon The Battle of Ascalon took place on 12 August 1099 shortly after the capture of Jerusalem, and is often considered the last action of the First Crusade. The crusader army led by Godfrey of Bouillon defeated and drove off a Fatimid army, sec ...

, with a relic of the

. Arnulf enforced the Latin rite among the crusaders, banning all others thus further alienating the disaffected Greeks. However, his election was soon subject to doubts concerning its canonicity, as he was not yet a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

. Before he could be ordained, he was replaced in December by

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,_whom_Pope_Paschal_II_had_appointed_legate._Arnulf_was_instead_appointed_archdeacon_of_Jerusalem."Arnulf_of_Chocques",_DHI,_University_of_Leeds
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Biography

References