Robert of Shrewsbury

Robert of Shrewsbury (died 1212) was Bishop of Bangor from 1197 to his death.

Robert appears to have been Dean of Shrewsbury and prebendary of Wolverhampton. He was appointed Bishop of Bangor by Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, apparently without being elected, and was consecrated by the Archbishop on 16 March 1197. Giraldus Cambrensis records the efforts of a person named only as "R.", subprior of Aberconwy Abbey, to be recognised as the true bishop-elect of Bangor.

In 1211, King John of England invaded Gwynedd in an attempt to subdue Llywelyn the Great. John was excommunicated at the time, and consequently Robert refused to meet him. John retaliated by sending a troop of soldiers from Brabant who burnt the city of Bangor and seized the Bishop from the high altar of the cathedral. Robert had to pay a fine of two hundred hawks to recover his liberty. Robert died the following year (though some sources say 1213) and was buried at Shrewsbury.

References

J. E. Lloyd (1911) "The history of Wales from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest" (Longmans, Green & Co.)

External links

* [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=33746 Notes on Bishop Robert at www.british-history.ac.uk]