Ralph d'Escures

Infobox Archbishop of Canterbury
Full name = Ralph d'Escures


birth_name = Ralph
began=unknown
consecration = April 1114
term_end = 20 October 1122
predecessor = Anselm of Canterbury
successor = William de Corbeil
birth_date =
death_date = 20 October 1122
tomb =

Ralph (died 20 October 1122), also known as Ralph d'Escures from the family estate Escures, near Séez in Normandy, was a medieval Abbot of Séez, Bishop of Rochester and then Archbishop of Canterbury. He studied at the school at the Abbey of Bec before he entered the abbey of St Martin at Séez in 1079 and became abbot of the house in 1091. He was a friend of both Saint Anselm and Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester, whose see, or bishopric, he took over on the death of Gundulf.

He was not chosen archbishop of Canterbury by the chapter of Canterbury alone. His election involved an assembly of the lords and bishops meeting with King Henry I of England. Ralph then received his pallium from Pope Paschal II, rather than travelling to Rome to retrieve it. As archbishop, Ralph was very assertive of the rights of the see of Canterbury and of the liberties of the English church. He claimed authority in Wales and Scotland. Ralph also quarreled for a time with Pope Paschal II.

Ralph suffered a stroke on 11 July 1119 and was left partially paralysed and unable to speak clearly from that time until his death on 20 October 1122. A surviving English translation of a sermon delivered by Ralph is preserved in the manuscript Vespasian D. The sermon survives in some fifty Latin manuscripts.

Early life

Ralph was the son of Seffrid d'Escures and his first wife Rascendis,Brett " [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/23047 Escures, Ralph d' (c.1068–1122) (subscription required)] " "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography"] and a half brother of Seffrid I,Greenway " [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=34293 Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: volume 5: Chichester: Bishops] " ] Bishop of Chichester from 1125 to 1145.Knowles, et. al. "Heads of Religious Houses, England and Wales" pp. 51,250] The surname of de Turbine, by which he is sometimes known in older scholarship, is only attested in the fourteenth century and possibly resulted from confusion with William de Corbeil, Ralph's successor at Canterbury. Ralph studied at the school at the Abbey of BecCantor "Church, Kingship, and Lay Investiture in England" p. 176] before entering the abbey of St Martin at Séez in 1079. St. Martin was a house founded by the Montgomery and Bellême families, and was still under their lordship.Vaughn "Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan" p. 109] He became abbot of the house in 1091, and his election was attended by Anselm, abbot of Bec.Vaughn "Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan" p. 61]

Time in England

, where he was one of examiners of the body, and declared the saint's remains uncorrupt. In 1106 he visited Anselm at the Abbey of Bec, but probably did not try to assert himself at Séez. After Anselm was elected to the see of Canterbury, Ralph appears to have become part of the archbishop's household.

In June 1108 he succeeded Gundulf as Bishop of Rochester, having been nominated by Gundulf before his death.Greenway " [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=33873 Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: volume 2: Monastic cathedrals (northern and southern provinces): Rochester: Bishops] "] Ralph was consecrated on 9 August 1108.Fryde, et. al. "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 267] He was at Anselm's deathbed in April 1109, and, afterwards, Ralph acted as administrator of the see of CanterburyPowell "House of Lords in the Middle Ages" p. 57] until 26 April 1114, when he was chosen Archbishop at Windsor.Fryde, et. al. "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 232] The king had wanted his doctor, Faricus, who was an Italian and abbot of Abingdon, but the nobles and the bishops objected to anyone but a Norman being appointed. The bishops also desired someone who was not a monk, or at least not one who was so close to Henry.Knowles "Monastic Order in England" p. 181] As a compromise, Ralph was chosen, rather than the secular clergy that the bishops favoured.Knowles "Monastic Order in England" p. 628] Although Ralph was a monk and had not previously been a royal clerk, and even been a disciple of Anselm's, he was still a bishop.Cantor "Church, Kingship, and Lay Investiture" p. 33]

Archbishop of Canterbury

It is noteworthy that, while Ralph was not chosen by the chapter of Canterbury alone, his election involved an assembly of the magnates and bishops meeting with the king. He was not selected solely by the king, nor solely by the bishops or chapter.Cantor "Church, Kingship, and Lay Investiture" p. 281] Ralph received his pallium from the pope, rather than travelling to Rome to retrieve it.Barlow "English Church 1066-1154" p. 38] It was only with difficulty, however, that Pope Paschal II was persuaded to grant the pallium, as the papacy was attempting to again assert papal jurisdiction over the English Church. It was Anselm of St Saba who brought the pallium to England, along with letters from Paschal complaining that the English Church was translating bishops from see to see without papal permission, that legates from the papacy were being refused entry to England and that the king was allowing no appeals to be made to the pope over ecclesiastical issues.Hollister "Henry I" pp. 240-243] In 1116 the pope even demanded the payment of Peter's Pence, a payment direct to the papacy of a penny from every household in England. Ralph, when he took the pallium, professed "fidelity and canonical obedience" to the pope, but did not submit to the papal demands and, in fact, supported King Henry in opposing the pope's demands.Cantor "Church, Kingship, and Lay Investiture" pp. 301-308]

As archbishop Ralph championed the rights of the see of Canterbury and the English church.Barlow "English Church 1066-1154" p. 83] He claimed authority in Wales and Scotland, writing to the pope that "the church of Canterbury has not ceased to provide pastoral care for the whole of Britain and Ireland, both as a benevolence and from its rights of primacy."quoted in Bartlett "England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings" p. 92] He advised the bishop of Llandaff that a new Llandaff Cathedral should be built and granted an indulgence to contributors.Hollister "Henry I" p. 395] He even refused to consecrate Thurstan as Archbishop of York because Thurstan would not profess obedience to the Archbishop of Canterbury.Vaughn "Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan" pp. 357-359] At first, Ralph depended only on the king to demand Thurstan to submit, but later he appealed to the popes to force Thurstan to obey. His refusal brought him into a dispute with the papacy, for Pope Paschal II supported Thurstan. Ralph visited Rome in 1117, but was unable to obtain an interview with Paschal as the pope had fled the city in front of an invading imperial army. Ralph had taken ill with an ulcer on his face during the trip to Rome and, for a time, it was feared that he would die. He recovered enough to continue on to Rome, however, although it was a fruitless trip. Despite instructions from Paschal’s successors, Gelasius II and Calixtus II, the archbishop continued to refuse to consecrate Thurstan, and Thurstan was still unconsecrated when Ralph died.Vaughn "Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan" p. 362] Thurstan was eventually consecrated at Rheims by Pope Calixtus II in May of 1119, although the issue of primacy remained unresolved.

Although he feuded with York over the primacy, it appears clear that Ralph considered the Investiture Crisis settled in England for, in 1117 while visiting Rome, he took a neutral position as regards the issues between the Pope and the Emperor.Cantor "Church, Kingship, and Lay Investiture" pp. 275-276] In 1115, however, he refused to consecrate Bernard as Bishop of St David's in the royal chapel, although Robert of Meulan, the king's chief counsellor, advocated that the consecration must take place in the royal chapel according to ancient custom. The king did not insist and Ralph won the confrontation. He was also involved in ecclesiastical affairs in Normanday, as he attended the provincial synod, or Council of Rouen, held in 1118.Spear "Norman Empire" "Journal of British Studies" p. 3]

Final years and legacy

Ralph suffered a stroke on 11 July 1119 as he was removing his vestments after celebrating Mass. From then until his death, Ralph was partially paralysed and unable to speak clearly.Bethell "English Black Monks and Episcopal Elections in the 1120s" "English Historical Review" p. 673] He was still involved in decision making and, in 1120, he agreed to King Alexander I of Scotland's suggestion that Eadmer become the next Bishop of St Andrew's. Ralph was one of the lords consulted about the remarriage of Henry I to Adeliza of Leuven at London in 1121.Powell "The House of Lords in the Middle Ages" p. 58] He also successfully asserted his right to celebrate the king's new marriage, over attempts by Roger of Salisbury to officiate instead.Cantor "Church, Kingship, and Lay Investiture" p. 299] Due to the damage from the stroke, Ralph was unable to perform the ceremony but, when Roger made an attempt to do so, Ralph successfully insisted on choosing the officiant and William Giffard Bishop of Winchester performed the marriage.Hollister "Henry I" pp. 280-281] Ralph died on 20 October 1122. His nephew, John, was a clerk under Ralph, and later Ralph appointed him Archdeacon of Canterbury. After Ralph's death, John was elected to the see of Rochester.Greenway " [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=33855 Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: volume 2: Monastic cathedrals (northern and southern provinces): Archdeacons: Canterbury] ]

Ralph was regarded as a "witty, easygoing" man.Hollister "Henry I" p. 235] The struggle with York, however, along with his illnesses and the effects of the stroke, turned Ralph in his last years into a quarrelsome person. Orderic Vitalis said that he was well educated and well loved by people. Even William of Malmesbury, no lover of ecclesiastics and always ready to find fault with them, could only find fault with him for his occasional lapses into unbecoming frivolity.

A surviving English translation of a sermon delivered by Ralph is preserved in the manuscript Vespasian D.Bartlett "England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings" p. 494] The sermon was for the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin and it survives in some fifty Latin manuscripts, probably because it was thought to have been written by Saint Anselm instead of Ralph. Ralph also had the monks of Christ Church, Canterbury search for documents relating to the privileges of Canterbury and had those documents copied into a manuscript which still survives, BM MS Cotton Cleopartra E. His seal is one of the first to take the usual form for bishop's seals, with Ralph standing, in full vestments including a mitre, and performing a benediction with his right hand while holding his crosier in his left. The seal took the form of a pointed oval.Harvey "A Guide to British Medieval Seals" pp. 64-65]

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Persondata
NAME=Ralph d'Escures
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Ralph de Turbine
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Abbot of St Martin at Séez; Bishop of Rochester; Archbishop of Canterbury
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH= 20 October 1122
PLACE OF DEATH=