Ernulf (1040 – 15 March 1124) was a French

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

who became

prior of Christ Church The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

abbot of Peterborough A list of the abbots of the abbey of Peterborough, known until the late 10th century as " Medeshamstede". Abbots Sources *'Houses of Benedictine monks: The abbey of Peterborough', ''A History of the County of Northampton: Volume 2'' (1906), pp. ...

, and

bishop of Rochester The Bishop of Rochester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester, Kent, Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Rochester Cathedral, Cathedral Chur ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. A jurist and an architect as well, he was responsible for greatly expanding

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...

during his time there.

Life

Ernulf was born in 1040 in Beauvais, France. He studied under Lanfranc at the monastery of Bec, entered the

Benedictine Order The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

, and lived at the ,

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; ) is a town and Communes of France, commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise Departments of France, département, in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, north of Paris. The Communes of France, commune o ...

. At the suggestion of Lanfranc, he went to England some time after 1070 and joined the monks of

.Greenway "Priors of Canterbury" pp. 8–12 He studied under

Ivo of Chartres Ivo of Chartres, canon regular, Can.Reg. (also Ives, Yves, or Yvo; ; 1040 – 23 December 1115), was a French canon regular and abbot who then served as the Bishop of Chartres from 1090 until his death. He was an important authority in Catholic c ...

and was considered an expert on canon law.Thomas Poole, ''Ernulf'', in the Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 5, Robert Appleton Company, New York, 1909 on line at http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05524b.htm Ernulf was made

prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

Archbishop Anselm Anselm of Canterbury Benedictines, OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also known as (, ) after Aosta, his birthplace and () after his Abbey of Bec, monastery, was an Italian Benedictines, Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher, and theologian of the Catho ...

in 1096 and began the expansion of Lanfranc's rebuilt

, taking down the eastern part of the church which Lanfranc had built and erecting a far more magnificent structure. This included the famous crypt (Our Lady of the Undercroft), as far as Trinity Tower. The chancel was finished by his successor Conrad. The chapel of St. Andrew is also part of Ernulf's work. In 1107, he was made

Abbot of Peterborough A list of the abbots of the abbey of Peterborough, known until the late 10th century as " Medeshamstede". Abbots Sources *'Houses of Benedictine monks: The abbey of Peterborough', ''A History of the County of Northampton: Volume 2'' (1906), pp. ...

, where he was one of the teachers of

Hugh Candidus Hugh Candidus (c. 1095 – c. 1160) was a monk of the Benedictine monastery at Peterborough, who wrote a Medieval Latin account of its history, from its foundation as Medeshamstede in the mid 7th century up to the mid 12th century. . ...

. On 28 September 1114, he was invested as bishop of Rochester by Ralph d'Escures, the

archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

.Greenway "ROCHESTER: Bishops" pp. 75–78 He was consecrated on 26 December 1115.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 267 At

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

and Rochester, Ernulf had the old buildings torn down and erected new dormitories, refectories, chapter houses, etc. Ernulf is associated with the production of the ''

Textus Roffensis The (Latin for "The Tome of Rochester Cathedral, Rochester"), fully titled the ''Textus de Ecclesia Roffensi per Ernulphum episcopum'' ("The Tome of the Rochester Cathedral, Church of Rochester up to Ernulf, Bishop Ernulf") and sometimes also ...

'' (a large collection of documents relating to the early Church of Rochester which also included the early Kentish law code attributed to King Aethelberht); "Collectanea de rebus eccl. Ruffensis".Williams ''English and the Norman Conquest'' p. 156 The collection reflects his interest in and sympathy towards pre-Conquest traditions apparent elsewhere. Aspects of Anglo-Saxon liturgical practice were revived at Canterbury and he may also have influenced the restoration of the shrines and altars to Anglo-Saxon saints to their former prominence during the development of the cathedral. His abbacy at Peterborough additionally seems to have coincided with renewed interest in the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

'' there. He also authored several canonical and theological treatises. Ernulf died on 15 March 1124.

In Literature

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in Koinonia, communion with other members o ...

by Bishop Ernulf (styled Ernulfus) is cited as something of a paragon of maledicta (to the degree that it was known as "The Pope's Curse" when first published in 1681 England) in two classic English

comic novel A comic novel is a Novel, novel-length work of humorous fiction. Many well-known authors have written comic novels, including P. G. Wodehouse, Henry Fielding, Mark Twain, and John Kennedy Toole. Comic novels are often defined by the author's liter ...

s: ''

Tristram Shandy Tristram may refer to: Literature * the title character of ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'', a novel by Laurence Sterne * the title character of '' Tristram of Lyonesse'', an epic poem by Algernon Charles Swinburne *"Tristr ...

'' by Laurence Sterne and '' Barchester Towers'' by Anthony Trollope. The specific reference (Archbishop Slope's manner of performing his duties are being described) in the latter is as follows: "From the poorer classes he exacted and unconditional obedience to set rules of conduct, and if disobeyed he has recourse, like his great ancestor, to the fulminations of an Ernulfus: 'Thou shalt be damned in thy going in and in thy coming out--in thy eating and thy drinking,' &c &c &c."

Citations

References

* * * ** * * {{Authority control 1040 births 1124 deaths Priors of Canterbury French Benedictines Bishops of Rochester 12th-century English Roman Catholic bishops 12th-century English jurists