Robert Of Bath
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Robert or sometimes Robert of Lewes (died 1166) was a medieval English
Bishop of Bath The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of Do ...
. He began his career as a monk at Lewes Priory as well as performing administrative functions for
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 ...
. It was Henry who secured Robert's selection as bishop. While bishop, Robert built in his diocese and set up the system of
archdeacons An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of m ...
there. He may have been the author of the '' Gesta Stephani'', a work detailing the history of King
Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...
's life.


Life

Robert was a native of England, but his ancestry was Flemish, probably of noble birth.Ramsey "Lewes, Robert of" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' His birthdate and when he became a monk are not known.Ramsey "Robert of Lewes" ''Belief and Culture'' p. 251 He was a
Cluniac Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter, Saints Peter and Saint Paul, Paul. The abbey was constructed ...
Bartlett ''England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings'' pp. 400–401 and a monk of Lewes Priory and a protégé of
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 ...
who employed him at
Glastonbury Abbey Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction. The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It wa ...
on administrative tasks.Greenway "Bishops" ''Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300'': Volume 7: Bath and Wells He may have been the
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 ...
of
Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...
but there is no certain evidence of this, as it is based on an appearance of a "Robert, prior of Winchester" on the 1130
Pipe Roll The Pipe rolls, sometimes called the Great rollsBrown ''Governance'' pp. 54–56 or the Great Rolls of the Pipe, are a collection of financial records maintained by the English Exchequer, or HM Treasury, Treasury, and its successors, as well a ...
, and a 15th-century historian. He was named Bishop of Bath through the influence of Henry of Blois,Crouch ''Reign of King Stephen'' p. 46 and was consecrated probably in March 1136.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 228 Robert was instrumental in reorganizing his diocese as well as building and restoration work at Wells. He was the bishop that set up the territorial organization of the
archdeacons An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of m ...
of the diocese. Contemporaries considered him pious as well as a man of business.Barlow ''English Church'' pp. 92–93 Robert continued the building work on church building at Bath, and gave
borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...
status to the town of Wells. He also reorganized the church at Wells, which had previously been the cathedral for the diocese prior to John of Tours moving the episcopal seat to Bath.Ramsey "Robert of Lewes" ''Belief and Culture'' pp. 252–253 In 1138, during Robert of Gloucester's rising against King
Stephen of England Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne '' jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 113 ...
, Robert was in charge of the defenses of
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
. He captured Geoffrey Talbot, who was a supporter of Robert of Gloucester's, but when he went out to parley with another group of Gloucester's supporters, the bishop was captured even though he had been offered a safe conduct for the parley. The bishop was then exchanged for Geoffrey Talbot.Appleby ''Troubled Reign'' p. 50 In 1141, he was at the gathering where Henry of Blois changed allegiance to the
Empress Matilda Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...
at
Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
.Davis ''King Stephen'' p. 52Appleby ''Troubled Reign'' p. 98 Robert died 31 August 1166 and was buried in
Bath Abbey The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Bath Abbey, is a parish church of the Church of England and former Benedictines, Benedictine monastery in Bath, Somerset, Bath, Somerset, England. Founded in the 7th century, i ...
before the high altar. He may have been the author of the '' Gesta Stephani'',Huscroft ''Ruling England'' p. 200Bartlett ''England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings'' p. 99 an identification first made by the historian R. H. C. Davis in 1962. While it is not certain that Robert was the author, the outlook of the work certainly fits with the known outlook of Robert.


Citations


References

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Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robert Of Bath Bishops of Bath 1166 deaths Year of birth unknown 12th-century English Roman Catholic bishops