Robert Bloet
Robert Bloet (d. 1123), was a medieval English bishop and the fifth Lord Chancellor of England.
Life
He was chancellor to Kings William I of England and William Rufus. From the latter he received the see of Lincoln in March 1093 in succession to Remigius de Fécamp.[1] He was consecrated at Hastings not long before February 22 1094, probably on February 12 the day after the dedication of the church at Battle Abbey.[2]
His private character was indifferent; but he administered his see with skill and prudence, built largely, and kept a magnificent household, which served as a training-school even for the sons of nobles.
Bloet was active in assisting King Henry I of England during the rebellion of 1102, and became that monarch's justiciar. Latterly, however, he fell out of favor, and, although he had been very rich, was impoverished by the fines which the king extorted from him. Perhaps his wealth was his chief offence in the king's eyes; for he was in attendance on Henry when seized with his last illness. He was the patron of the chronicler Henry of Huntingdon, whom he advanced to an archdeaconry. He died on January 10 1123 at Woodstock, Oxfordshire and was buried at Lincoln.[2] He returned monks to Eynsham Abbey, who had been moved to Stow by his predecessor. This act set the precedent that the bishop of Lincoln would henceforth appoint the abbot to that house.[3]
Bloet was a married bishop, and he appointed his son Simon as Dean of Lincoln. It was in Bloet's household that the medieval historian Henry of Huntingdon was brought up.[4]
See also
Notes
References
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - British History Online Bishops of Lincoln accessed on October 28, 2007
- Burton, Janet (1994). Monastic and Religious Orders in Britain: 1000-1300. Cambridge Medieval Textbooks. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-37797-8.
- Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde Handbook of British Chronology 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961
- Williams, Ann (2000). The English and the Norman Conquest. Ipswich: Boydell Press. ISBN 0-85115-708-4.
