Gundulf (bishop)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The White Tower of the Tower of London built by Gundulf

Gundulf (* 1023 or 1024; † March 7, 1108 in Rochester ) was a bishop of the English diocese of Rochester . He was best known as a builder and is considered to be one of the pioneers of the Norman style in England. He is considered to be the only 11th century master builder whose name and career are known.

Origin and education

Gundulf probably came from a non-noble Norman family from the Vexin . He was probably intended for a priestly career as a child and attended a convent school in Rouen , where Wilhelm , the archdeacon and later Archbishop of Rouen , became aware of him. Through the mediation of Wilhelm he came into the household of Archbishop Maurille . At the end of 1057 he started a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with a group of pilgrims, to which his patron Wilhelm belonged , and they also visited Rome. During a storm on his way home, he vowed to become a priest.

Career as a clergyman

After his return around 1059 he became a monk in the Benedictine Abbey of Le Bec in Normandy . At that time Lanfrank von Bec , who later became Archbishop of Canterbury, was prior there , while Anselm , who succeeded Lanfrancs as archbishop, was also a monk in the convent . When Lanfrank became abbot of St. Stephen's Abbey in Caen in 1063 , Gundulf moved to this monastery with him. It was probably around this time that he acquired his skills as a master builder, when under Lanfrank the castle of Caen , the male monastery of St. Stephen and the female monastery were rebuilt. Lanfrank was a close adviser to Duke William of Normandy , who became King of England in 1066. Gundulf also followed Lanfrank when he went to Canterbury , England, in 1070 as the elected Archbishop . He became administrator of the archbishopric and supported Lanfrank in reforming the English church based on the Norman model. After the death of Arnost , who had been Bishop of Rochester for less than a year, in July 1076, Lanfrank made Gundulf second Norman Bishop of Rochester . Gundulf traveled to Normandy to have his appointment confirmed by the king and was ordained Bishop of Rochester on March 19, 1077 by Lanfrank in Canterbury. At that time the diocese was impoverished and barely viable. After the fall of Odo of Bayeux , who was also Earl of Kent , the possessions of the diocese were restored in 1082, giving Gundulf the opportunity to reform the diocese. Since only five canons were active at the cathedral, he founded the Benedictine priory of St Andrew in 1082 , to which 60 monks later belonged. He was able to win over wealthy donors and began building a new cathedral as early as 1080 , of which the so-called Gundulf Tower , a tower north of the choir , is still preserved. In the newly built choir of his cathedral he moved a shrine with relics of St. Paulinus of York . As a bishop, Gundulf remained in close contact with Archbishop Lanfrank. In the four-year vacancy of the archdiocese after its death, Gundulf co-administered it. During this time, the monks of St. Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury rebelled when they forcibly expelled the abbot Wido appointed by Lanfranc. On behalf of the king, Gundulf and Bishop Walkelin of Winchester drove the monks out and temporarily replaced them with monks from the cathedral chapter, while the citizens who had supported the monks in the abbot's forcible expulsion were blinded as punishment . After King Wilhelm II appointed Gundulf's friend Anselm as the new Archbishop in 1093 after a serious illness, he escorted him to Canterbury for his consecration. Together with Anselm he took part in the consecration of Battle Abbey on February 11, 1094 . Relations between Anselm and the king were soon strained, and Gundulf was one of the archbishop's few remaining supporters. After an interim reconciliation with the king, Archbishop Anselm went into exile in the autumn of 1097 and Gundulf again took over the administration of the Archdiocese of Canterbury. A series of documents that King Wilhelm II issued for Gundulf attests that the king, despite his friendship with Anselm, trusted the bishop. Presumably Gundulf was one of the three bishops who took part in the hasty coronation of his brother Henry I in Westminster Abbey in 1100 after the accidental death of King Wilhelm II . He was therefore one of the friends of the king and queen and baptized their son William . In September 1101 he mediated the dispute between King Henry I and his brother Robert Curthose , who had invaded England. In September 1102 Gundulf attended the council of the Church of England in Canterbury. When Anselm went into exile again from 1103 to 1106, Gundulf again administered the Archdiocese of Canterbury. He received the sacraments of death from Anselm, who also presided over his funeral in Rochester Cathedral.

The western curtain wall of Rochester Castle, built under Bishop Gundulf

Activity as a builder

Gundulf became particularly well known as a military architect, he built the first stone castles in England. Under his supervision, the keep of Colchester Castle was built from 1076 onwards , based on the model of Norman castles in Ivry , Caen and Rouen . Around 1078 the king commissioned him to build the White Tower in London. After the wooden castle of Rochester was destroyed during a rebellion in 1088, King William II commissioned Gundulf to rebuild the castle as a stone fortress. Gundulf had a stone curtain wall built which cost around £ 60 to build.

Aftermath

Gundulf was considered extremely pious and particularly benevolent towards the poor. In West Malling he founded a nunnery before 1100, whose first abbess he appointed on her deathbed. His activity strengthened the Rochester diocese so that it lasted until the Reformation. A Bible manuscript that he owns is in the Huntington Library in California. The British Corps of Royal Engineers , founded in 1717, considers Gundulf to be their first member.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Norman Connections: Bishop Gundulf. Retrieved April 15, 2015 .
  2. ^ Rochester Cathedral: About the Cathedral. Retrieved April 15, 2015 .
  3. ^ Colchester Castle: History. Retrieved April 14, 2015 .
  4. ↑ Historic Royal Palaces - Tower of London: The Normans. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 17, 2015 ; accessed on April 15, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hrp.org.uk
  5. ↑ Guide To Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the Huntington Library: HM 62 “Gundulf Bible”. Retrieved April 15, 2015 .
  6. ^ Norman Connections: Bishop Gundulf. Retrieved April 15, 2015 .
predecessor Office successor
Arnost Bishop of Rochester
1077-1108 		Ralph d'Escures
personal data
SURNAME Gundulf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Rochester and Norman builder
DATE OF BIRTH 1023 or 1024
DATE OF DEATH March 7, 1108
Place of death Rochester