6. William Rufus and the Church

Question 1

Rufus’s attitude toward the Church

Answer 1

• Overall negative relationship
• Kept bishoprics vacant to make sure of their revenues and had numerous arguments with Anselm
• Was not a committed Christian
• When Anselm left for Rome in 1097 to seek the advice of the pope, Rufus seized his estates
• Bartlett: Rufus “had absolutely no interest in the church save as a source of profit”
• Rufus used those who wanted to progress in the Church as a source of income eg. Losing a paid 1000 marks to become Bishop of Theford in 1091
• Also used the Church to reward those who were faithful, eg. Flambard became Bishop of Durham in 109 after paying £1000 for the position, out of 8 promotions that Rufus made to Brishoprics, 6 were from clerks to the royal court
• Overall, William II was interested in Church matters if it served his needs of raising revenue or rewarding his loyal servants, he gave little back to the Church and made it clear to them that royal prerogative was all that mattered

Question 2

Trial of William of Saint-Calais

Answer 2

• Was Bishop of Durham and commissioner of the Domesday Book, highly trusted by William I
• Following succession of Rufus, WSC became chief advisor to Rufus, however relations deteriorated when WSC was accused of being part of the rebellion
• He had allegedly warned the king of Odo and Roger of Montgomery’s plans and despite initially supporting Rufus, WSC had a change of heart and failed to attend the royal court
• He denied being guilty of any crime when arrested and turned to Durham to find that his lands had been confiscated
• He was told by Rufus that he was to stand trial for treason and be tried under secular law (of the King), rather than canon law (of the Church)
• WC protested and Rufus responded by sending an army to Durham Castle, when this failed Rufus gave WSC safe return to the royal court and the trial was formalised as was to be conducted according to secular law
• At trial, the final judgement was that WSC would lose his land, he protested and as a result the guarantee of safe passage was taken away
• WSC continued to protest and made a plea to the new pope, Urban II, which Rufus found insulting, WSC arranged to go into exile in Normandy
• He returned in 1091 after being forgiven, his fief (land) was restored and he served in the royal court until his death in 1096

Question 3

William’s relationship with the papacy, including Urban II

Answer 3

• 1084, Pope Gregory VII was forced out of Rome by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV
• His place was taken by an anti-pope Clement III, this meant that the papacy put little pressure on William I to reform areas of the church as it was too preoccupied with its own affairs
• When Rufus came to power the papal split was still in place, Gregory VIII had died and was replaced by Victor III then Urban II
• The King refused to recognise Urban II until 1095 when he was forced to, due to his disagreement with Archbishop Anselm

Question 4

The appointment of and relationship with Anselm as Archbishop of Canterbury

Answer 4

• Early 1093 the King became seriously ill, he believed that this could have been due to his ungodly behaviour so sought to forgiveness by appointing a new Archbishop of Canterbury
• Anselm was summoned to take the position but he refused, he was nearly 60 and wanted to spend the rest of his life in academic pursuits, he didn’t believe Rufus would give him complete power
• Was physically manhandled to accept the position
• By summer of 1093 Anselm reluctantly accepted that he has been elected and informed Rufus that he would carry out his duties if all property of the church of Canterbury was returned to the archbishop, lost lands returned to the Church, that Anselm was the only spiritual advisor to the King and if Anselm was able to continue to recognise Urban as pope
• Rufus agreed to all of these except that lost lands should be returned, Rufus went back on his word
• This along with extra demands made by Anselm about religious reform led to a major falling out between 1094 ad 1095
• Anselm argued that the King’s courtiers were immoral, they grew long hair and married relatives, Anselm also urged the King to fill vacant sees, the King believed that these issues were for him to solve and not Anselm

Question 5

The Council of Rockingham

Answer 5

• Council of Rockingham was called in 1095
• Short term reason for council was that William II had refused Anselm’s plea to go to Rome and claim his pallium for the second time, Rufus believed that if he let Anselm go then this would mean that he had accepted Urban II as Pope, Anselm called a council of magnates to rule over the issue
• At start of the council, Anselm asked the Bishops for their support, however they favoured the King
• Barons present were more sympathetic and were impressed by Anselm defending his principles
• Debate was inconclusive but a truce was agreed until May
• During truce Rufus sent a messenger to Rome to call for Anselm’s pallium which was then presented to Anselm, however Rufus believed that Anselm should pay for what the king had done for him
• Anselm refused to pay for something that he believed was his right, Rufus was forced to back down and allow Anselm to operate with the backing of Pope Urban II who the king had to accept as Pope
• Peace at Rockingham did not lost, Anselm remained concerned about the behaviour of the king and his courtiers which he believed was immoral, he decided to go to Urban for help
• Rufus refused to allow Anselm to travel to Rome and arranged for him to be deported in 1097
• Anselm remained in Normandy until after 1100 after the death of Rufus

Question 6

The spread of monasticism

Answer 6

• Monasteries during the Norman conquest were either ravaged or restored
• Restoration and developing them included: clergy members were increasingly replaced by orders of monks, such as Cluniacs and Augustinians, building of new monasteries in a Norman style, removal of old abbots
• Rufus continued his father’s approach to monasteries, he finished off Battle Abbey which had been started by William I
• Rufus removed abbots at Glastonbury and Winchester
• He ordered the Bishop of Rochester to rebuild the cities defences around the cathedral, the Bishop paid for this however Rufus cancelled outstanding debt of a higher amount, this led to increased support in Rochester
• Rufus supported the founding of a new monastery of Bermondsey Abbey, this housed Cluniac monks from Normandy
• He rewarded loyal servants such as Ranulf Flambard with positions in the church
• William II put the monks at Canterbury on small rations, refused to allow Church councils and took income from any bishoprics that remained vacant sees, Rufus also taxed the clergy in order to increase funds