Theobald of Bec

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Theobald of Bec : biography

– 18 April 1161

After the Battle of Lincoln in 1141, with Stephen in captivity in Bristol, Theobald did not immediately join the Empress. He claimed that he needed to talk to Stephen before switching his oath of fealty. After consulting in person with Stephen, he secured permission to accept the current conditions, and then joined Henry of Blois, who had switched sides, at Winchester in April for a legatine council held to depose Stephen and crown Matilda as queen. Attendance at the council was sparse however, and the Empress could not be crowned because she did not hold London.Davis King Stephen p. 52 After the unsuccessful attempt to crown Matilda, those gathered at Winchester had to flee before Stephen’s forces; one of Matilda’s chief supporters, her half-brother Robert of Gloucester, was captured. During their flight Theobald and his fellow bishops were robbed of their horses and ecclesiastical vestments. Theobald then took a leading part in the negotiations that led to the exchange of Robert for Stephen, which happened in November 1141. Henry of Blois, having switched sides again, then held another legatine council in Westminster, which reaffirmed Stephen as king. Theobald ceremonially crowned Stephen at Canterbury during the Christmas court held there.Saltman Theobald pp. 17–18

Matilda remained in England until 1148. The disorders were at their peak between 1142 and 1148, but her cause could never secure enough support to enable her to be crowned. Nor could Stephen decisively defeat Matilda’s forces, which meant that England remained divided in allegiance between the two rivals. But while Matilda was in England, her husband Geoffrey was conquering Normandy, which he finally overran in 1144.Huscroft Ruling England pp. 74–75

Difficulties with Henry of Blois

Theobald’s dealings with Henry of Blois, the Bishop of Winchester, his suffragan bishop, were strained because of Henry’s position as papal legate. Henry supported the appointment of William FitzHerbert as Archbishop of York in 1141, which Theobald opposed.Davis King Stephen pp. 101–103 Although Theobald spoke out against the manner of election, he took little active part in the subsequent electoral disputes, which resulted eventually in the deposition of FitzHerbert and his replacement at York by Henry Murdac.Saltman Theobald pp. 90–91Greenway But in September 1143, Henry’s legatine powers lapsed when Pope Innocent II, who had made the legatine appointment, died. Celestine II was elected on 26 September 1143, but he was an opponent of Stephen, and thus was not favourably inclined towards Stephen’s brother Henry either. To secure appointment as legate, Theobald travelled to Rome in December 1143, arriving shortly before Celestine’s death on 8 March 1144. Theobald was probably accompanied by Nigel, Bishop of Ely, and Roger de Clinton, Bishop of Coventry.Saltman Theobald pp. 19–22 Before his death, Celestine forbade Theobald "to allow any change to be made in the position of the English crown, since the transfer of it had been justly denounced, and the matter was still under dispute".Quoted in Davis King Stephen p. 62 This became the papal policy, and was a significant change from the recognition of Stephen as king by Pope Innocent II soon after Stephen’s coronation in 1135.Davis King Stephen p. 62 It essentially forbade Theobald from crowning any successor to Stephen, especially while Stephen was still alive.Saltman Theobald p. 37

After Celestine’s death Theobald returned to England, stopping at St Denis Abbey in Paris to help Suger, the abbot, consecrate the newly rebuilt abbey church and its altars. Theobald was the only bishop present at the ceremony whose diocese was not in France. Meanwhile Henry of Blois had arrived in Rome and begun negotiations with the new pope, Lucius II, over the elevation of the bishopric of Winchester to an archbishopric. It appears that Lucius appointed a legate, Cardinal Icmar, the Bishop of Tusculum, to travel to England and oversee the project, but Lucius died before anything was accomplished.