David FitzGerald (sometimes David Fitz Gerald or David fitz Gerald; 1106 – 8 May 1176) was a medieval

Bishop of St David's The Bishop of St Davids is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St Davids. The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the city of St Davids in Pembrokeshire, ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Early life

FitzGerald was the son of Gerald of Windsor and

Nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materi ...

, daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, and was probably born between 1103 and 1109. His sister Angharad married William de Barri and was the mother of

Gerald of Wales Gerald of Wales ( la, Giraldus Cambrensis; cy, Gerallt Gymro; french: Gerald de Barri; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taugh ...

.Pearson ''Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: volume 9: The Welsh cathedrals (Bangor, Llandaff, St Asaph, St Davids): Bishops of St David's'' The eldest brother was

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, the Lord of Carew, and a younger brother was

Maurice Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr * Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...

. There were also some half-brothers who held lands in Wales, including

Robert Fitz-Stephen Robert FitzStephen (died 1183) was a Cambro-Norman soldier, one of the leaders of the Norman invasion of Ireland, for which he was granted extensive lands in Ireland. He was a son of the famous Nest, daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, the last king of ...

, who later secured fitzGerald's help in getting released from captivity.Walker "David fitz Gerald" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''

Bishop

FitzGerald was a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of the cathedral chapter of St David's Cathedral and

Archdeacon of Cardigan This is a list of archdeacons of Cardigan. The Archdeacon of Cardigan is the priest in charge of the archdeaconry of Cardigan, an administrative division of the Church in Wales Diocese of St Davids. The archdeaconry comprises the five deaneries o ...

before he was elected to the bishopric of St Davids on 14 December 1148.Pearson ''Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: volume 9: The Welsh cathedrals (Bangor, Llandaff, St Asaph, St Davids): Archdeacons of Cardigan'' The cathedral chapter was divided over whom to elect, and the circumstances for the dissension are a bit murky, as two different reasons are recorded. Gerald of Wales stated that the dispute over the election arose because part of the chapter wished to elect a Welshman yet others opposed this desire. Another story for the dispute has one faction of the chapter favouring the continuation of St David's attempt to be elevated to the status of an archbishopric, an effort that was opposed by the other faction. However the sides came to be, the chapter sent a delegation to Canterbury where

Theobald of Bec Theobald of Bec ( c. 1090 – 18 April 1161) was a Norman archbishop of Canterbury from 1139 to 1161. 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, risi ...

, the Archbishop of Canterbury, secured the election for fitzGerald. His election was a victory for the local Welsh interests by securing the election of someone who had close ties to the bishopric to the episcopal seat. FitzGerald did promise, however, to abandon the efforts of his predecessors in the see to have St David's elevated to an archbishopric. FitzGerald was consecrated on 19 December 1148 at Canterbury Cathedral by Theobald of Bec. Theobald also consecrated

Robert de Chesney Robert de Chesney (died December 1166) was a medieval English Bishop of Lincoln. He was the brother of an important royal official, William de Chesney, and the uncle of Gilbert Foliot, successively Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London. Educat ...

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) 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 ...

at the same time.Saltman ''Theobald'' pp. 113–114 Also present at the consecration was Patrick, the

Bishop of Limerick The Bishop of Limerick is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Limerick in the Province of Munster, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it still continues as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been un ...

.Saltman ''Theobald'' p. 95 His profession of obedience to Canterbury survives, and differs from others of the same time frame in the longer length as well as the form that it took. Theobald's securing of the promise to no longer seek the elevation of St David's was a sign of the archbishop's victory over the separatist tendencies in the Welsh church. During fitzGerald's episcopate, he took part in the coronation of

Henry the Young King Henry the Young King (28 February 1155 – 11 June 1183) was the eldest son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine to survive childhood. Beginning in 1170, he was titular King of England, Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou and Mai ...

in 1170. Besides this, fitzGerald took little part in political affairs, with the main exception being his efforts in 1167 to secure his half-brother's release from the custody of Rhys ap Gruffudd. He was also present at the royal council at Clarendon in 1164. In episcopal affairs, FitzGerald appears to have spent most of his time on local affairs, only helping with the consecration of one other bishop – when in 1162 he took part in the consecration of

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

as Archbishop of Canterbury. He attended the Council of Westminster in 1175. One of fitzGerald's problems was that his diocese was quite poor and suffered from plundering by local magnates. FitzGerald also used the lands of the bishopric to endow his family with lands and offices.

Death and legacy

FitzGerald died on 8 May 1176,Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 297 and was buried in his cathedral. FitzGerald took his nephew Gerald into his household and arranged for his education.Barlow ''English Church'' p. 100 Besides his nephew, fitzGerald also had at least one son and several daughters, whom he provided for out of the lands of St David's. His son, Miles, became a member of one of the Norman invasions of Ireland, and was formally acknowledged as the bishop's son.

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:David Fitzgerald 1100s births 1176 deaths 12th-century English Roman Catholic bishops Year of birth uncertain Bishops of St Davids Archdeacons of Cardigan