William de Blois (Bishop, Worcester)

William de Blois (also William of Blois ) († August 17, 1236 in Alvechurch ) was an English clergyman and bishop of Worcester .

Origin and career as a clergyman

The origin of William de Blois is unclear. Presumably he was related to the eponymous Bishop William de Blois of Lincoln, under whom he served as Archdeacon of Buckinghamshire . Compared to other prelates , William had few benefices . In addition to a benefice in Sutton , which he had as archdeacon, he had only the income from the parish church of Swallow in Norfolk , which Sir Thomas de Lascelle had given him. It is unclear whether he studied in Paris or Oxford, but before 1218 William graduated from a university. In 1218 William was elected Bishop of Worcester . The monks of the cathedral priory are said to have elected him only unwillingly and under duress from the papal legate Guala and after the intervention of Archbishop Stephen Langton . On October 28, 1218 William was enthroned as bishop .

Bishop of Worcester

Conflict with the cathedral priory

Williams' tenure was marked by efforts to reform the church and disputes with his cathedral priory, with which there were violent conflicts, particularly before 1224. In 1220 William tried to depose the prior . As a result, the monks complained against William in 1221, accusing him of numerous offenses. The monks asserted that their prior could only be removed by commissioned papal judges. They have papal documents for this privilege. The conflict then became Pope Honorius III. submitted for decision in Rome, who then deposed Prior Simon and replaced him with William Norman . The removal of Prior Simon was overturned by officials from Archbishop Langton of Canterbury, but William Norman remained in office despite numerous opposition. In 1224, Bishop William and the monks of the cathedral priory reached a settlement that re-regulated the election of the prior. After that, the cathedral priory was allowed to propose seven candidates from which the bishop could choose the prior. The agreement also provided for the absence of the bishop and other special cases. It obviously put an end to the open opposition between cathedral priory and bishop and remained in force until the 15th century.

Efforts to implement church reform

As a bishop, William was hardly politically active. In addition to his trip to Rome, where he took his position in the conflict with the cathedral priory in 1222, he only left England one more time when he attended the General Chapter of the Cistercian Order in 1228 . Instead, he devoted himself to his spiritual duties. During his tenure, work began on the eastern part of Worcester Cathedral , and he had St Thomas' Chapel built north of the cathedral . However, his particular concern seemed to have been church reform. During his tenure there were at least four, 1219, 1220, 1229 and 1232 diocesan synods held. During at least two synods he issued diocesan statutes, which formed guidelines for the administration of the diocese. To this end, he made visits to the Cathedral Priory of Worcester, St Augustine's Abbey in Bristol, and Great Malvern Priory . He made the visitation of Great Malvern in 1233 against the resistance of the monks and even repeated it in 1234.

William was buried in Worcester Cathedral, his presumed funerary monument is preserved in the Cathedral's Lady Chapel .

Web links

• Philippa Hoskin: Blois, William de (d. 1236). 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
New Year's Eve	Bishop of Worcester 1218-1236	Walter de Cantilupe