Richard FitzNeal ( 1130 – 10 September 1198) was a churchman and bureaucrat in the service of

Henry II of England Henry II () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...

Life

In 1158 or 1159

Nigel Nigel ( ) is an English masculine given name. The English ''Nigel'' is found in records dating from the Middle Ages; however, it was not used much before being revived by 19th-century antiquarians. For instance, Walter Scott published '' The F ...

Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with ...

, paid Henry II to appoint his natural son, Richard FitzNeal, as the king's treasurer.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 103Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 1, St. Paul's, London: Prebendaries: Chiswick
' Richard was the great nephew of

Roger, Bishop of Salisbury Roger of Salisbury (died 1139), was a Norman medieval bishop of Salisbury and the seventh Lord Chancellor and Lord Keeper of England. Life Roger was originally priest of a small chapel near Caen in Normandy. He was called "Roger, priest of th ...

, who had organized the exchequer under

Henry I Henry I or Henri I may refer to: :''In chronological order'' * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry ...

, when it was separated from the Chamberlain's office in the king's household. Henry II, who was an astute judge of character and inspired great loyalty, was well served by Richard, who held the post of

Lord Treasurer The Lord High Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in England, below the Lord ...

at the head of Henry's

exchequer In the Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's ''Transaction account, current account'' (i.e., mon ...

for almost the next 40 years. Concurrently, Richard was

Dean of Lincoln Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean S ...

, a major administrative position in an important English diocese. In 1184 he was made Prebendary of Aylesbury.Prebendaries 1092 to 1842 – Aylesbury
accessed on 3 September 2007 He also held the

prebend A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir ...

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...

in the diocese of London. In 1177 Henry II asked FitzNeal to write a book about his work. The book, ''Dialogue Concerning the Exchequer'' ('' Dialogus de Scaccari''), is the first administrative treatise of the Middle Ages, a unique source of information on royal finances and the methods of collecting them in the twelfth century. Its preface instructs the novice in governance that it is not the function of the exchequer officials to decide on the merit of royal policy, merely to execute it. The secular bureaucracy is the instrument of the king's will, and the royal power ebbs and flows according to whether his treasury is full or empty. He wrote at the end of the work that he had "laid my axe to the virgin and rough wood and cut for the royal buildings' timber that a more skilled builder may smooth with his adze".Quoted in Clanchy ''From Memory to Written Record'' p. 19 It is in the ''Dialogue'' that Richard recorded an oral story told him by

Henry of Blois Henry of Blois ( c. 1096 8 August 1171), often known as Henry of Winchester, was Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey from 1126, and Bishop of Winchester from 1129 to his death. He was the son of Stephen II, Count of Blois and Adela of Normandy, a yo ...

, grandson of

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

and

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...

, about the origins of

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

, which according to Henry of Blois's story was made so that "every man might be content with his own rights, and not encroach unpunished on those of others".Clanchy ''From Memory to Written Record'' p. 25 As well as being treasurer, FitzNeal was rewarded with the position of

bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

from 1189 until his death in 1198. He was nominated on 15 September 1189 and consecrated on 31 December 1189.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 258Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 1, St. Paul's, London: Bishops
' The

Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames, covering and all or part of 17 London boroughs. This corresponds almost exactly to the historic county of ...

ranks third in honour in the Church of England, after the Archdioceses of

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 ...

and

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. Evidence from FitzNeal's writings shows that Richard had read the ''

Institutes An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations ( research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ...

'' but that he seems to have not read the '' Digest'', although he may have known of it.Turner "Roman Law" ''Journal of British Studies'' p. 14 FitzNeal was replaced as treasurer in 1196 by William of Ely. He died on 10 September 1198.

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Life

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