Rotrou or Rotrodus or Rotrode or Rothrud (died c. 27 November 1183) was the

bishop of Évreux A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

from 1140Hardy, Thomas Duffus, ed. (2013) ''Descriptive Catalogue of Materials Relating to the History of Great Britain and Ireland to the End of the Reign of Henry VII'', Vol 2, p. 428, Cambridge University Press. . and twenty-fifth

archbishop of Rouen The Archdiocese of Rouen (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rothomagensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Rouen'') is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the Archbishop of Rouen's ecclesi ...

from 1165, a year after the death of Archbishop Hugh IV, until his own death in either 1183 or 1184. He was the fourth son of

Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick or Henry de Newburgh (died 20 June 1119) was a Norman nobleman who rose to great prominence in the Kingdom of England. Origins Henry was a younger son of Roger de Beaumont by Adeline of Meulan, daughter of ...

, and Margaret, daughter of Geoffrey II of Perche. He was also the chief

justiciar Justiciar is the English form of the medieval Latin term or (meaning "judge" or "justice"). The Chief Justiciar was the king's chief minister, roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The Justiciar of Ireland was ...

and steward of

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 ...

. In 1167 he led the funeral service of

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 ...

, daughter of

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 ...

and mother of

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

, at

Bec Abbey Bec Abbey, formally the Abbey of Our Lady of Bec (), is a Benedictine monastic foundation in the Eure ''département'', in the Bec valley midway between the cities of Rouen and Bernay. It is located in Le Bec Hellouin, Normandy, France, and was ...

. He has a place in the history of the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula, Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Kingdom of Africa, Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was ...

through his cousin, the queen regent

Margaret of Navarre Margaret of Navarre (, , ) (c. 1135 – 12 August 1183) was List of Sicilian royal consorts, Queen of Sicily as the wife of William I of Sicily, William I (1154–1166) and the regent during the minority of her son, William II of Sicily, William ...

, who was the daughter of Marguerite de l'Aigle, daughter of Julienne, another daughter of Geoffrey of Perche. Margaret wrote him a letter beseeching him to send a relative of theirs to Sicily to assist her in the government. The man Rotrou sent was

Stephen du Perche Stephen du Perche (1137 or 1138 – 1169) was the chancellor of the Kingdom of Sicily (1166–68) and Archbishop of Palermo (1167–68) during the early regency of his cousin, the queen dowager Margaret of Navarre (1166–71). Stephen is desc ...

, later archbishop of

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

. Rotrou also later sent

Walter of the Mill Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

, also later an archbishop of Palermo, to Sicily to be a tutor to

William II of Sicily William II (December 115311 November 1189), called the Good, was king of Sicily from 1166 to 1189. From surviving sources William's character is indistinct. Lacking in military enterprise, secluded and pleasure-loving, he seldom emerged from hi ...

. Rotrou also escorted an embassy of William's to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and back to France with

Joanna Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from . Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Janice, Jean, and Jeanne. The earliest recorded occurrence of th ...

, daughter 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 ...

, betrothed to William. His successor was

Gautier de Coutances Walter de Coutances (died 16 November 1207) was a medieval Anglo-Norman bishop of Lincoln and archbishop of Rouen. He began his royal service in the government of Henry II, serving as a vice-chancellor. He also accumulated a number of eccle ...

, the companion of

Richard the Lionheart Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

References

Sources

*Beaumont, Edward T. ''The Beaumonts in History. AD 850-1850''.

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. * Norwich, John Julius. ''The Kingdom in the Sun 1130-1194''. Longman:

, 1970. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rotrou, Archbishop of Rouen 1180s deaths Anglo-Normans Archbishops of Rouen 12th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in France Bishops of Évreux Younger sons of earls Beaumont family