Herbert de Losinga (died 22 July 1119) was the first

Bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the Ordinary (Catholic Church), ordinary of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Norwich, Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. Th ...

. He founded

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Norwich and the mother church of the dioc ...

in 1096 when he was Bishop of Thetford.

Life

Losinga was born in

Exmes Exmes () is a former Communes of France, commune in the Orne Departments of France, department in north-western France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Gouffern en Auge.Argentan Argentan () is a commune and the seat of two cantons and of an arrondissement in the Orne department in northwestern France. As of 2019, Argentan is the third largest municipality by population in the Orne department.

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, the son of Robert de LosingaDoubleday and Page ''Houses of Benedictine monks: New Minster, or the Abbey of Hyde'' pp. 116–122 (died June 1098) Losinga was educated in Normandy, and took his vows at Fécamp Abbey in Normandy, of which he eventually became prior. While serving in this office he was invited to England by the king,

William Rufus William II (; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third son of William the Co ...

, who appointed him abbot of

Ramsey Abbey Ramsey Abbey was a Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine abbey in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, Ramsey, Huntingdonshire (now part of Cambridgeshire), England. It was founded about AD 969 and Dissolution of the Monasteries, dissolved in 1539. The site ...

. Losinga was consecrated Bishop of Thetford in 1090 or 1091.British History Online Bishops of Norwich
accessed on 29 October 2007 He received the appointment having paid the king a sum of £1,900, as part of a deal in which Herbert's father was made Abbot of

New Minster, Winchester The New Minster in Winchester was a royal Benedictine abbey founded in in Winchester in the England, English county of Hampshire. Alfred the Great had intended to build the monastery, but only got around to buying the land. His son, Edward the ...

.Quennell ''Cathedral Church of Norwich'' p. 6 In 1094 he went to Rome to ask for forgiveness from Pope Urban for this act of

simony Simony () is the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after Simon Magus, who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as having offered two disciples of Jesus payment in exchange for their empowering him to imp ...

. On his return he transferred the see from Thetford to Norwich, in accordance with the decree of

Lanfranc Lanfranc, OSB (1005 1010 – 24 May 1089) was an Italian-born English churchman, monk and scholar. Born in Italy, he moved to Normandy to become a Benedictine monk at Bec. He served successively as prior of Bec Abbey and abbot of St Ste ...

's synod of 1075, that bishops should have their sees in the principal town of the diocese.Quennell ''Cathedral Church of Norwich'' p. 94 In addition to Norwich Cathedral, Losinga was responsible for founding St Margaret's Church in

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

; the Church of St Nicholas in

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

; and

Norwich School Norwich School (formally King Edward VI Grammar School, Norwich) is a private selective day school in the close of Norwich Cathedral, Norwich. Among the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, it has a traceable history to 1096 as an episcop ...

. Losinga visited Rome for a second time in 1116, representing the king in a dispute between the monarch and Anselm, 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 ...

. It may have been on the return journey that he fell severely ill at Placentia (modern Piacenza); other sources suggest he suffered this illness on a possible third journey to Rome, which he did not complete, instead awaiting his fellow ambassadors at Placentia, before returning to England with them.Quennell ''Cathedral Church of Norwich'' p. 98 One of Losinga's last public appearances was at the funeral of Queen Matilda on

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...

1118. He died on 22 July 1119Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 261 and was buried before the high altar of Norwich Cathedral. Fourteen sermons and 57 letters written by Losinga have survived.Wollaston ''Norwich Cathedral'' p. 22

Citations

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Losinga, Herbert De 11th-century births 1119 deaths 11th-century English Roman Catholic bishops 12th-century English Roman Catholic bishops Bishops of Norwich Bishops of Thetford (ancient) Burials at Norwich Cathedral Founders of English schools and colleges Normans in England Abbots of Ramsey 11th-century Christian abbots