William de Corbeil facts for kids

William de Corbeil (around 1070 – 21 November 1136) was an important medieval Archbishop of Canterbury. We don't know much about his early life or family, except that he was born in Corbeil, France, and had two brothers. He studied to be a theologian and taught for a short time. Later, he worked as a clerk for bishops and became an Augustinian canon.

In 1123, William was chosen as the Archbishop of Canterbury. This was a big deal because he was the first canon to become an English archbishop. He took over from Ralph d'Escures, who he had worked for. During his time as archbishop, William had a long argument with the Archbishop of York, Thurstan, about who was more important. To help solve this, the Pope made William a special representative, called a papal legate, giving him more power.

William cared a lot about how the clergy (church leaders) behaved. He held several meetings to make sure priests didn't buy their jobs and lived a celibate life (meaning they didn't marry). He was also known for building things, like the tall keep of Rochester Castle. Near the end of his life, William helped Stephen of Boulogne become King of England. This was surprising because William had promised the dying King Henry I that he would support Henry's daughter, Matilda, to be the next ruler. Even though some people called him a traitor for this, everyone agreed he was a very religious man.

William's Early Life and Education

William de Corbeil was probably born in Corbeil, France, around 1070. He studied at Laon, where his teacher was Anselm of Laon, a famous scholar of theology. William taught there for a while, but not much else is known about his early years. We only know he had two brothers, Ranulf and Helgot.

William later worked for Ranulf Flambard, the Bishop of Durham. He was present at a special event in 1104 when the body of Saint Cuthbert was moved. This suggests he had an important role in Flambard's household. He also taught Flambard's children. At some point, William started working for the Archbishop of Canterbury, Ralph d'Escures. He even traveled to Rome with Ralph in 1117 for a disagreement with the Archbishop of York.

In 1118, William joined the Augustinian order at Holy Trinity Priory. This was a house for canons, who are like priests but live under a specific rule, rather than monks. Later, he became the prior (leader) of the Augustinian priory at St Osyth in 1121.

Becoming Archbishop of Canterbury

Henry I from a 13th-century manuscript of Matthew Paris

After Archbishop Ralph d'Escures died in 1122, King Henry I allowed a new archbishop to be chosen. The church leaders and important noblemen of England would decide. However, the monks of Canterbury Cathedral and the bishops of the kingdom disagreed. The bishops wanted a clerk (someone who wasn't a monk), but the monks wanted one of their own. The monks also believed they alone had the right to choose.

King Henry I sided with the bishops. He told the monks they could choose from a short list of candidates picked by the bishops. As you might guess, this list didn't include any monks.

On February 2 or 4, 1123, William was chosen from four candidates. He was seen as a good compromise because he was a canon, which was closer to a monk than a regular clerk. William was the first Augustinian canon to become an archbishop in England. This was a big change, as Canterbury had usually chosen monks. Even so, some monks at Canterbury were a bit worried because he was a clerk, not a monk.

The Primacy Dispute with York

Like other Archbishops of Canterbury before him, William believed that Canterbury was the most important church in Great Britain. This meant it had authority over all other churches, including the archbishopric of York. However, Thurstan, the Archbishop of York, disagreed and wanted his church to be independent.

When William was consecrated (officially made archbishop) in 1123, Thurstan refused to do it because William demanded that York recognize Canterbury's authority. So, William's own bishops performed the ceremony. Earlier Popes had often supported York in this argument.

William traveled to Rome to get his pallium, a special scarf that showed his authority as an archbishop. He found that Thurstan had already been there and had complained about William's election to Pope Callixtus II. Thurstan had four main objections:

• William was chosen in the king's court.
• The Canterbury monks were forced to choose him.
• His consecration was not done by Thurstan.
• A monk should have been chosen for Canterbury, as it was founded by Augustine of Canterbury, who was a monk.

However, King Henry I and the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V (King Henry's son-in-law) convinced the Pope to ignore these issues. William promised to obey the Pope. In the end, the Pope said that Canterbury did not have authority over York. William returned to England and was officially welcomed at Canterbury on July 22, 1123.

The argument continued with the next Pope, Honorius II. In 1126, Honorius appointed William as his special representative (papal legate) for England and Scotland. This gave William power over York, but it depended on the Pope's will and would end when the Pope died. This only delayed the problem, as neither William nor Thurstan gave up their claims. Because of this long dispute, William traveled to Rome more often than almost any other bishop before him.

William's Work as Archbishop

Map of medieval Rochester showing the tower that William built, from E. A. Freeman's The Reign of William Rufus 1882

Archbishop William held important church meetings, called legatine councils, in 1127 and 1129. These meetings took place in Westminster. In 1127, the council said that buying church jobs (called simony) was wrong. It also said that priests should not pass their church positions down to their children. Another rule was that priests should not have women living in their homes unless they were close relatives.

The council also said that clergy who refused to give up their wives or partners would lose their church jobs. Any women who didn't leave the parish could be forced out or even made into servants. In 1129, the clergy were again told to live a celibate life and put aside their wives. However, King Henry I then allowed clergy to pay a fine to the king's treasury to keep their women. This decision by William to allow the fine was criticized by a writer named Henry of Huntingdon.

William was also very active in his own church area. He wanted to improve the churches there. He reformed the nunnery (a place for nuns) of Minster-in-Sheppey. He also set up a group of regular canons at St. Gregory's church in Canterbury.

William's special power as papal legate ended when Pope Honorius died in 1130. But the next Pope, Innocent II, renewed it in 1132.

In his later years, William tried to reform St Martin's, Dover. The king had given this church to William and Canterbury in 1130. William built a new church building nearby. He planned to put canons regular there. On his deathbed, William sent canons from Merton Priory to take over St Martin's. However, monks from Canterbury Cathedral stopped them, saying St Martin's belonged to the cathedral monks. The Merton canons didn't argue, and after William died, the Canterbury monks sent 12 of their own monks to St Martin's instead.

William also started building the keep (the main tower) of Rochester Castle. This tower is 115 feet (35 meters) tall and is the tallest Norman-built keep in England. It was built for King Henry and is still standing today, though it has no roof or floors. The keep was designed for defense and also to be a comfortable place for the archbishops to stay when they visited Rochester. In 1127, King Henry gave William and future archbishops control of Rochester Castle. This included the right to make it stronger and to have their own soldiers there. This was partly to ensure the archbishop's loyalty to the king and to help protect the coast of Kent. William also finished building Canterbury Cathedral, which was officially opened in May 1130.

William's Final Years

Archbishop William had promised King Henry I that he would support Henry's daughter, Matilda, as the next queen of England. However, after Henry died, William instead crowned Stephen as king on December 22, 1135. He was convinced to do this by Henry of Blois, the Bishop of Winchester and Stephen's brother, and Roger of Salisbury, the Bishop of Salisbury. These bishops argued that King Henry had no right to make William swear that oath. They also said that the dying king had released everyone from their oaths anyway. A royal official, Hugh Bigod, even swore he heard the king say he released the oath.

William did not live much longer after Henry. He died in Canterbury on November 21, 1136, and was buried in Canterbury Cathedral. People at the time didn't always praise him highly, especially after Matilda's son, Henry II, became king. One writer, William of Malmesbury, said William was polite and serious. Another writer, from the Gesta Stephani, claimed William loved money and saved a lot of it. But even those who called him a traitor for crowning Stephen agreed that he was a very religious man.