Tomb marker - Sampson Bishop of Worcester

Samson (also Sampson; died 5 May 1112) was a medieval English clergyman who was

Bishop of Worcester The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary (officer), head of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Worcester, Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title can be traced back to the foundation of the diocese in the ...

from 1096 to 1112.

Life

Samson was a royal chaplain and a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

and treasurer of the

diocese of Bayeux The Diocese of Bayeux and Lisieux (Latin: ''Dioecesis Baiocensis et Lexoviensis''; French language, French: ''Diocèse de Bayeux et Lisieux'') is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is coextensive with the Department of Ca ...

.British History Online Bishops of Worcester
accessed on 3 November 2007 In the ''

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 ...

'' Samson is referred to as the chaplain and is recorded as holding St Peter's Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton and considerable properties in southern

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, most of which he sublet to either the canons of St Peter's or to other clergy. David Bates, a biographer 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 ...

, suggests that William wished to put Samson forward for the bishopric of

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

following the death of Bishop Arnold on 29 November 1081. However the account by Orderic of this event says that Samson convinced William that another candidate,

Hoel King Hoel (, "Hoel the Great"; ), also known as Sir Howel, Saint Hywel and Hywel the Great, was a late 5th- and early 6th-centuryFord, David Nashat ''Early British Kingdoms''. 2001. Retrieved 1 December 2014. member of the ruling dynasty o ...

, was much worthier, based on his humble and pious nature. Bates writes “Since Samson did eventually become a bishop, succeeding Wulfstan at Worcester in 1095, he was probably being disingenuous.” In 1096 Samson was elected

bishop of Worcester The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary (officer), head of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Worcester, Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title can be traced back to the foundation of the diocese in the ...

; he was ordained as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

on 7 June 1096 and consecrated as

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

on 8 June 1096. Being a bishop did not prevent him from fathering a daughter, Isabelle of Douvres, and two sons who also became bishops. His son

Richard 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 ...

was

bishop of Bayeux The Diocese of Bayeux and Lisieux (Latin: ''Dioecesis Baiocensis et Lexoviensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Bayeux et Lisieux'') is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is coextensive with the Department of Calvados and is a ...

from 1108 to 1133, and his son

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

was

archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

from 1108 to 1114.Spear "The Norman Empire and the Secular Clergy" ''Journal of British Studies'' p. 5 Samson's daughter, Isabelle of Douvres was known for her liaison with

Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester Robert FitzRoy, 1st Earl of Gloucester (c. 1090 – 31 October 1147 David Crouch, 'Robert, first earl of Gloucester (b. c. 1090, d. 1147)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 200Retrieved 1 ...

. Their illegitimate son was

, who was bishop of Bayeux from 1135 to 1142. It has been suggested that Samson may possibly have been the scribe who oversaw the compilation of Domesday BookChaplais "William of Saint-Calais" ''Domesday Studies'' pp. 68–70 by the historian

V. H. Galbraith Vivian Hunter Galbraith (15 December 1889 – 25 November 1976) was an English historian, fellow of the British Academy and Regius Professor of Modern History (Oxford), Oxford Regius Professor of Modern History. Early career Galbraith was ...

.Clanchy ''From Memory to Written Record'' p. 102 Samson died on 5 May 1112.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 278

Citations

References

British History Online Bishops of Worcester
accessed on 3 November 2007 * * * *

Life

Citations

References

Further reading