Waleran (bishop)

Waleran († August 29, 1184 in Rochester ) was an Anglo-Norman clergyman. From 1182 he was Bishop of Rochester .

Origin and advancement as a clergyman

Waleran probably came from a Norman family about which nothing is known. Although he is called a Magister several times in documents , but including two forged certificates from Rochester, so that it is uncertain whether he actually went to high school. By 1153 at the latest he was Archdeacon of Bayeux in Normandy . From 1174, still an archdeacon, he was in the service of Richard of Dover , after he became Archbishop of Canterbury . He is mentioned as a witness in about 51 of Richard's documents received, and he still testified Richard's documents as bishop. For this he served several times as a royal official. 1176 moved Waleran Gerard Pucelle , who also belonged to the archbishop's household, to decide a legal dispute between Battle Abbey and Godfrey de Lucy in favor of the monastery.

Bishop of Rochester

On October 9 or 10, 1182, Waleran was elected bishop of the Diocese of Rochester , with his election being supported decisively by Richard of Dover. He was ordained a priest on December 18, 1182, and bishop on December 19 by Richard of Dover. To the annoyance of the monks of Canterbury Cathedral Priory, the consecration took place in Lisieux , Norman . Only in the summer of 1183 did Waleran return to England. On 19 August he renewed his oath of allegiance and Gehorsam- in Canterbury in the presence of the Archbishop, who then him his crozier handed. After the death of Archbishop Richard on February 16, 1184, a dispute arose over the choice of a new archbishop. King Henry II , who wanted Baldwin of Exeter as the new archbishop, instructed Waleran to lead a delegation to Rome to submit the case to the Pope for decision. Before Waleran could leave, however, he died in Rochester and was likely buried in Rochester Cathedral. His executors were the Prior of the Cathedral Priory , the Prior of St Gregory's in Canterbury, and the Precentor of Évreux . He left vestments and some books for the cathedral priory .

Only a few certificates have survived from Waleran's short term in office. Although he probably like other bishops of his time instead of Kathedralpriorats one of Säkularkanonikern formed cathedral chapter wished he stayed with the monks in Rochester in good remembrance, which is probably mainly due to the dispute with his successor de Gilbert Glanville was.

Web links

• MN Blount: Waleran (d. 1184). 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
Walter (bishop)	Bishop of Rochester 1182–1184	Gilbert de Glanville