Roger de Clinton

Roger de Clinton (also Roger of Clinton ) († around April 16, 1148 in Antioch ) was an Anglo-Norman clergyman. From 1129 he was Bishop of Chester .

Origin and Promotion to Bishop of Chester

Roger de Clinton may have been born in Normandy on the Clinton family estate in Semilly , about seven kilometers east of Saint Lô . He was a nephew of Geoffrey of Clinton , a nobleman, who was one of the so-called New Men under King Henry I ascended. At an unknown date, Clinton became archdeacon of Buckingham . He certainly had a certain education, because in 1139 he belonged to an embassy that represented King Stephen of Blois at the papal court. He was ordained a priest on December 21, 1129 by Archbishop William de Corbeil in Canterbury and bishop the following day. On January 12, 1230 he was enthroned as bishop in Coventry .

Bishop of Chester

Roger proved to be a gifted administrator of his diocese and a promoter of the religious orders. Probably on August 8, 1135 he founded Buildwas Abbey , in addition he renewed the foundation of the collegiate church St Chad's in Shrewsbury , which he provided with further possessions. He provided the canon positions for the care of deserving officials of his diocese. He also looked after various communities of hermits who lived in the royal forest of Cannock in Staffordshire . He succeeded in converting these communities into the Blithbury , Farewell , Pollesworth and Black Ladies Priory Benedictine monasteries in Brewood, as well as the Red Moor Cistercian monastery . Red Moor was later moved to Stoneleigh . He is also rightly considered to be the founder of Lichfield Cathedral . There is evidence that major construction work was carried out on the cathedral during his tenure. Following the example of the Cathedral of Rouen , he increased the number of canons at the cathedral and established the offices of dean and treasurer. This is said to have happened either after his visit to Rome in 1139 or 1143, when Coventry was heavily fortified as a result of the fighting during the anarchy , which is why Clinton moved the diocese to Lichfield . Lichfield flourished as a market town with increasing pilgrimages to the shrine of St. Chad in the cathedral. During Clinton's tenure, a new district was built south of Minster Pool , which he granted borough status . To this end, he probably founded the Hospital of St John the Baptist in the city.

Politically, Clinton played only a minor role during the reign of King Stephen and in the long war of succession. Presumably he sympathized with Stephan's opponent Matilda , although he did not break openly with the king. He issued two deeds in favor of the Diocese of Chester. In the second charter, Clinton was given the Church of Wolverhampton , which was later revoked as a mistake. During the anarchy, Clinton was accused of having wrongly given diocesan possessions as fiefs to knights. Presumably for this reason he made a second trip to Rome from 1143 to 1144 together with Bishop Nigel von Ely on the orders of the papal legate Heinrich von Blois . Pope Lucius II confirmed the privileges of his diocese on May 4, 1144.

Participation in the Second Crusade and death

Why Clinton joined the Second Crusade in 1147 is unknown. He was probably one of the English and Norman crusaders who, under the leadership of Bishop Arnulf von Lisieux , joined the army of the French King Louis VII in Worms at the beginning of July 1147 . On March 19, 1148 the army reached Saint Simeon. From there she escorted Prince Raimund to Antioch . Before the army could move on in June 1148, Clinton died. He was probably buried in Antioch.

rating

Roger de Clinton has long been viewed negatively by historians. Contributing to this was the claim of the contemporary Chronicle Gesta Regis Stephani that he was a more belligerent bishop who died during a crusade. Above all, however, he was accused of having bought his appointment as bishop of King Henry I for the sum of 3000 marks (£ 2000). Since this enormous sum was at least ten times the annual income of the Bishop of Chester, this claim is doubtful. In addition, simony was rather unusual under Henry I. The allegation was probably one of the charges brought against Roger's uncle Geoffrey de Clinton when he was temporarily accused of treason in 1130. Clinton's reticence during the War of Succession and his promotion of the monasteries paint a different picture of the bishop, who was a good administrator of his diocese in politically troubled times.

Web links

• MJ Franklin: Clinton, Roger of (d. 1148). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004

predecessor	Office	successor
Robert Peche	Bishop of Coventry 1129–1148	Walter Durdent