Lanfranc facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Blessed Lanfranc, O.S.B.
Archbishop of Canterbury
Statue of Lanfranc from the exterior of Canterbury Cathedral
Appointed	August 1070
Reign ended	24 May 1089
Predecessor	Stigand
Successor	Anselm of Canterbury
Other posts	Abbot of Saint-Étienne, Caen
Orders
Consecration	15 August 1070
Personal details
Born	between 1005 and 1010 AD Pavia, Holy Roman Empire
Died	24 May 1089 (aged 79-84) Canterbury, Kingdom of England
Buried	Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, England
Nationality	Italian
Denomination	Roman Catholic Church
Parents	Hanbald

Lanfranc (1005 x 1010 at Pavia — 24 May 1089 at Canterbury) was a cleric, teacher and jurist who became Archbishop of Canterbury under William the Conqueror.

This celebrated Italian jurist gave up his career to become a monk at Bec in Normandy. In 1070 he became the Archbishop of Canterbury in England. This was the peak of an extraordinary life.

Life

Lanfranc was born in the early years of the 11th century at Pavia in Italy. His father, Hanbald, held a rank equivalent to a magistrate. He was orphaned at an early age. Lanfranc was trained in the liberal arts. He crossed the Alps, and took up the role of teacher in France and eventually in Normandy. About 1039 he became the master of the cathedral school at Avranches. He taught for three years with much success.

In 1042 he gave this up to become a monk in the newly founded Bec Abbey. He became the first prior of Bec Abbey in 1045. He became a friend of William, Duke of Normandy and by 1050 his counselor. Lanfranc then became the abbot of St Stephen in Normandy.

In 1067, when Maurilius, Archbishop of Rouen, died, Lanfranc declined the position. He would not have been able to do so without the consent of William I. It is likely William had something bigger in mind for Lanfranc. In 1070 Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury was deposed by papal legates. William brought Lanfranc from Normandy to England to become the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Images for kids

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  Signatures at the council of Winchester. The large crosses are the signatures of William and Matilda, the one under theirs is Lanfranc's, and the other bishops' are under his.

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  Near-contemporary depiction of Lanfranc in Oxford Bodleian Library MS Bodley 569