Henry of Blois, often known as Henry of Winchester, was Abbot of Glastonbury
Abbey from 1126, and Bishop of Winchester from 1129 to his death. He
was a younger son of Stephen Henry, Count of Blois by Adela of Normandy,
daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders. Thus, he was a
younger brother of Stephen, King of England.
Early life and education Henry was one of five sons of Stephen
II, Count of Blois, by Adela of Normandy and the younger brother of King Stephen.
Henry's father died in 1102 while on crusade during the Second Battle of
Ramla, leaving an estate with more than 350 castles and large properties in
France including Chartres. Henry was educated at Cluny and adhered
to the principles of Cluniac reform, which included a sense of intellectual
freedom and humanism, as well as a high standard of devotion and discipline.
Abbot and bishop Henry was brought to England by King
Henry I, to be Abbot of Glastonbury. On 4 October 1129, he was given the
bishopric of Winchester and allowed to keep his beloved Glastonbury Abbey. He
was consecrated bishop on 17 November 1129. He had ambitions to become
Archbishop of Canterbury, but refused to abandon his work and obligations to
Glastonbury. Soon after his appointment to the see of Winchester, Henry came to
resent his subservience to Canterbury. He therefore set about building a
power-base to persuade the king to create a third, West Country archdiocese
with himself at the head. This scheme was unsuccessful. However, on 1 March
1139, during the reign of his brother Stephen, Henry obtained a commission as
papal legate, which gave him higher rank than Theobald of Bec, Archbishop of
Canterbury, making him the most powerful figure in the English Church during the
troubled times of the so-called "Anarchy". Thus, when his brother was
unavailable, Henry of Blois was the most powerful, and possibly the wealthiest,
man in England. Stephen of Blois was crowned King of
England in 1135, but the relations between the two brothers were not always
peaceful. After the Battle of Lincoln in 1141, Henry found it more advantageous
to support Empress Matilda; but later found her arrogant and greedy. Later
that year, Henry rejoined his brother's side and, with the help of Queen Matilda
and an army commanded by William of Ypres, his successful defence of
Winchester against the Empress was the turning point of the civil war. As Abbot
of Glastonbury, Henry remained in contact with Peter the Venerable at
Cluny and was made aware of most of the controversies on the continent,
specifically the persecution of Peter Abelard and the translation of the Koran
from Arabic to Latin. Architecture
Before and after his elevation to Bishop, Henry of Blois was an advisor to
his brother Stephen and survived him. Henry of Blois engineered hundreds of
projects, including villages and canals, abbeys and smaller churches. He was most
proud of his contributions to the greatest developments at Glastonbury
Abbey long before the destructive fire of 1184. Unlike most bishops of his age,
Henry had a passion for architecture. He built the final additions to Winchester
Cathedral and Wolvesey Castle in Winchester, including a tourist tunnel
under the cathedral to make it easier for pilgrims to view relics. He also
designed and built additions to many palaces and large houses including the
castle of Farnham, Surrey and began the construction of the Hospital of St Cross
at Winchester. In London he built Winchester Palace as a residence for the
bishops of Winchester. In Rome, John of Salisbury reported, he acquired an
impressive number of ancient Roman sculptures, defending his purchases as
preventing the Romans of his day from worshipping these "idols".
Henry was responsible for building six castles in 1138, those at Bishop's
Waltham, Downton, Farnham, Merdon, Taunton, and Wolvesey. Contemporaries
were surprised that a bishop would be such a prolific builder of
fortification. Much of Henry's work was undone in 1155, when the new king, Henry
II, ordered that his castles be thrown down.
Literature Henry was also enamoured of books and
their distribution. He wrote or sponsored several books including one On
the Antiquity of the Glastonbury Church by William of Malmesbury, his close
personal friend. He sponsored the Winchester Bible, the largest
illustrated Bible ever produced. It is a huge folio edition standing nearly three
feet in height. This Bible is still on display at Winchester, although it was
never fully finished. His production of the Winchester Psalter, also known as
the Blois Psalter, is preserved in the British Library and is considered a
British National Treasure. Later years and death
The expiration of Henry's legatine commission on 23 September 1143 deprived
him of much of his power. His efforts to renew the commission were unsuccessful,
but he made a personal visit to Rome and secured several favours for Glastonbury
and the Benedictine order in general. Shortly after his brother's death and
the accession of Henry II, the bishop retired to Cluny for three years to
mourn his mentor Peter the Venerable, who died on Christmas Day, 1156.
In his later years Henry of Blois was appointed to preside over the trial of
Thomas Becket and secretly supported Becket's family before and after his
assassination. Henry died on 8 August 1171. Among his
gifts to Cluny, was a pyx set with gems in the choir. Henry of Blois is now
buried in Winchester Cathedral in a plain stone crypt in the choir, but
there is a controversy because some sources claim he was buried at Cluny.
Recent research indicates he was also entombed for a time in a small church at
Ivinghoe, England. One explanation describes his heart enshrined at Cluny
while his corpse and other artifacts were moved From Ivinghoe to Winchester
in the 17th century. For many years his sarcophagus was thought to be that of
King William Rufus son of William the Conqueror. During his lifetime, he was
arguably the richest and most powerful man in England, and has been referred to
as a king without a throne, and the power behind the throne. In the
Antiquities, William of Malmesbury who knew the bishop well, described him,
saying, "Yet, in spite of his noble birth he blushes when praised."
Notes References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:
Chisholm, Hugh, ed.. Encyclopædia Britannica. Cambridge University Press.
British History Online Bishops of Winchester accessed on 2 November 2007
Lawrence, C. H.. Medieval Monasticism: Forms of Religious Life in Western
Europe in the Middle Ages. New York: Longman. ISBN 0-582-40427-4.
History of Farnham Castle accessed on 2 November 2007
Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I.. Handbook of British
Chronology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
Further reading Stacy, N. E.. "Henry of Blois and the
Lordship of Glastonbury". The English Historical Review 114: 1–33.
doi:10.1093114.455.1. Jeffrey West, "A Taste for the Antique?
Henry of Blois and the Arts," in C. P. Lewis, Anglo-Norman Studies XXX:
Proceedings of the Battle Conference 2007, 213-230.