Hervey le Breton

Infobox bishopbiog
name = Hervey


religion =Catholic
See =Diocese of Ely
Title = Bishop of Ely
Period = 1109–1131
Predecessor = new foundation
Successor =Nigel
ordination =
bishops = Bishop of Bangor
post =
date of birth =
place of birth =
date of death =30 August 1131
place of death =

Hervey le Breton (also known as Hervé le Breton) (died 30 August 1131) was a Breton cleric who became Bishop of Bangor and later Bishop of Ely.

Early life

Hervey was a native of Brittany,Miller "Abbey and Bishopric of Ely" p. 3] and was a chaplain of King William II of EnglandGreen "Government of England" p. 278] before being appointed Bishop of Bangor in 1092Fryde "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 290] by King William II of England.Chibnall "Anglo-Norman England" p. 81-82] At this time most of Gwynedd had been overrun by the Normans, and following the killing of Robert of Rhuddlan had been taken over by Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester.Barlow "William Rufus" p. 320-324] The appointment of Hervey was probably intended to further consolidate the Norman hold on the area.Barlow "William Rufus" p. 322] He was consecrated Bishop of Bangor by Thomas of Bayeux Archbishop of York, since the see of Canterbury was vacant at the time.Barlow "English Church 1066-1154" p. 69]

Problems at Bangor

Relations between Hervey and the Welsh appear to have been very bad. The "Liber Eliensis" described the situation as:

Since they [the Welsh] did not show the respect and reverence due to a bishop, he [Hervey] wielded the sharp two-edged sword to subdue them, constraining them both with repeated excommunications and with the host of his kinsmen and other followers. They resisted him nonetheless and pressed him with such dangers that they killed his borther and intended to deal with him the same way, if they could lay hands on him.Quoted in Bartlett "England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings" p. 93]

Hervey was forced to rely on his own armed bands for protection. In 1094 a Welsh revolt against Norman rule in Gwynedd began under the leadership of Gruffydd ap Cynan,Barlow "William Rufus" p. 337] and by the late 1090s Hervey had been driven from his diocese by the Welsh. William of Malmesbury, however, states that the reason Hervey left Bangor was that the revenues of the see were too small.Vaughn "Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan" p. 320 footnote 43] He remained nominally Bishop of Bangor until 1109. King Henry I of England tried to translate Hervey to the see of Lisieux in 1106, but the attempt was unsuccessful.Owen "Hervery (d. 1131)" "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/13107 Online edition] accessed 6 March 2008] The main opposition came from Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury, who was the metropolitan of Bangor, and refused to allow Hervey to go to a Norman bishopric.Vaughn "Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan" p. 320-321] While in exile, Hervey served as King Henry's confessor.Brett "The English Church Under Henry I" p. 105]

Appointment to Ely

Before his death in 1107, Richard the abbot of Ely had attempted to secure from the papacy the elevation of his abbey into a bishopric. After Richard's death, Hervey was appointed to oversee the abbey during the vacancy,Miller "Abbey and Bishopric of Ely" p. 75] and he convinced the monks of Ely to support the project, which received the conditional approval of Archbishop Anselm, contingent on papal approval. Paschal signaled his approval, and in 1109 the monastery became a bishopric.Brett "The English Church Under Henry I" p. 57-58] Ely still remained a monastic house, as the abbey itself became the cathedral and the monks of the abbey became the monks of the cathedral chapter. Also in 1109, the pope approved Hervey's translation to a new see,Brett "The English Church Under Henry I" p. 36 footnote3] and he was made Bishop of Ely. He was enthroned at Ely in October of 1109. [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=33863 British History Online Bishops of Ely] accessed on 25 October 2007]

While bishop, Hervey ordered the compilation of a history of the refounding of the abbey of Ely, which later became incorporated into the "Liber Eliensis".Miller "Abbey and Bishopric of Ely" p. 4] He was energetic in recovering the feudal rights of the bishopric against knights who had intruded themselves on the lands but were not rendering knight service to the bishop.Miller "Abbey and Bishopric of Ely" p. 166] As bishop, he attended a legatine council in 1127, and a royal council in 1129, but otherwise his administrative actions remain obscure. The causeway between the island of Ely and Exning, which made it easier for pilgrims to visit the shrine of Saint Ethelreda was built under Hervey's orders. Insight into his activities as bishop is given in the Pipe Roll of 1130, the first surviving Pipe Roll. In that record, Hervey is recorded as owing King Henry 45 pounds to provide an office for a nephew, 100 pounds on an old settlement with the king, another 100 pounds for the settlement of a case dealing with Ramsey Abbey, Bury St. Edmunds Abbey and the bishop, 240 pounds for the right to be rid of a surplus of knights, and finally 1000 pounds for the king to allow the bishop's knights to serve castleguard at Ely instead of Norwich.Green "The Government of England" p. 86-87]

Death

Hervey died on 30 August 1131.Fryde "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 244] He was buried in Ely Cathedral on 31 August 1131. He was disliked by Archbishop Anselm, and he was described as a man of "secular tastes".Hollister "Henry I" p. 223] His nephew, William Brito, was a royal chaplain and was appointed Archdeacon of Ely by 1110.Brett "The English Church Under Henry I" p. 109] [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=33865 British History Online Archdeacons of Ely] accessed on 6 March 2008] Another nephew was Richard, who in 1130 is recorded in the Pipe Roll as paying a fine to the king because of land that his uncle had given him.Barlow "William Rufus" p. 258] Another of Hervey's relative was Gilbert Universalis, who was appointed to the see of London in 1128 by Henry I.Barlow "English Church 1066-1154" p. 86]

Following the expulsion of Hervey, the see of Bangor remained vacant until 1120, when Henry I appointed David the Scot with the consent of Gruffydd ap Cynan.

Notes

References

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* [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=33865 British History Online Archdeacons of Ely] accessed on 6 March 2008
* [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=33863 British History Online Bishops of Ely] accessed on 25 October 2007
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External links

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

Persondata
NAME=Breton, Hervey le
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Hervé le Breton
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Bishop of Bangor; Bishop of Ely
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=30 August 1131
PLACE OF DEATH=