[A.D. 1115-1120.] Geoffry de Clive succeeded. “Bonus quidem et ille,” says William of Malmesbury, “continentissimusque; indifferenter cibis et vestibus quæ minori pretio taxarentur utens; agriculturæ studens.” He greatly improved the lands belonging to the see; but was more careful to increase than to distribute; “leaving great stores behind him to no heir.”
[A.D. 1121-1127.] Richard, called “de Capella,” a clerk of the King’s chapel. A bridge across the Wye, at Hereford, was partly built by this bishop. His successor,
[A.D. 1131-1148.] Robert de Bethune, had been nominated by the King (Henry I.) in 1129, but was not consecrated until 1131. Bishop Robert was a member of the noble house of Bethune; and received his early education from his own brother Gunfrid, a teacher of some celebrity. He became a canon in the Augustinian priory of Llanthony; and on the death of Hugh de Lacy, Earl of Hereford, was appointed to superintend the building of a religious house at Weobly, where the great Earl was buried. Here he worked as a common labourer, and is said to have injured his health so greatly, that he was recalled to his priory, of which he soon afterwards became the superior. When the see of Hereford became vacant, Robert de Bethune was recommended to the King by the Earl of Gloucester, and at last accepted the bishopric, “quamvis invitus.” During the troubles of Stephen’s reign Hereford suffered greatly. The cathedral was deserted and desecrated, and the Bishop himself was compelled to take flight in disguise. On his return, he “cleansed and repaired” the building. In 1148, Bishop Robert was present at the Council of Rheims, convened by Pope Eugenius III., then an exile in France; and died there, (April 16). His remains were brought to England, and interred in his own cathedral.
A short life of Bishop de Bethune, who was one of the best and worthiest bishops of his age,—a man of peace and religion, when by far the greater number of English bishops were little better than the most turbulent barons,—was written by William of Wycumb, his successor in the priory of Llanthony, and was printed by Wharton in the second volume of his Anglia Sacra.
[A.D. 1148, trans. to London 1163.] Gilbert Foliot, Abbot of Gloucester, the inflexible antagonist of Becket. Foliot “was admitted to be a man of unimpeachable life, of austere habits, and great learning. He was in correspondence with Popes Cælestine II., Lucius II., Eugenius III., and Alexander, and with a familiarity which implies a high estimation for ability and experience. He is interfering in matters remote from his diocese, and commending other bishops, Lincoln and Salisbury, to the favourable consideration of the pontiff. All his letters reveal as imperious and conscientious a Churchman as Becket himself, and in Becket’s position Foliot might have resisted the King as inflexibly. He was, in short, a bold and stirring ecclesiastic, who did not scruple to wield, as he had done in several instances, that last terrible weapon of the clergy which burst on his own head, excommunication[47].” It was Foliot who uttered the “bitter sarcasm” on Becket’s consecration as primate, “The King has wrought a miracle, he has turned a soldier and a layman into an archbishop;” but in spite of this, Becket “acquiesced in, if he did not promote, the advancement of Foliot to the see of London,” vacant when Becket was consecrated, at Whitsuntide, 1161. Foliot’s translation took place in 1163. From that time he appears on the King’s side, in opposition to the Archbishop, and Becket accuses him of aspiring to the primacy. The life of Foliot belongs too completely to the public history of his time, and is too closely associated with the career of Becket, to be dwelt on here at any length. He was among the bishops excommunicated by Becket on Ascension-day, 1169, and again in Canterbury Cathedral, on the Christmas-day before the Archbishop’s murder; and it was Foliot who preached in that cathedral on the memorable day (July 12, 1174) of King Henry’s penance. He died in 1187.
The letters of Bp. Foliot have been edited by Dr. Giles, (Oxon. 1845,) and form two volumes of the series illustrating the life of Becket. Foliot was annually commemorated by the canons of Hereford, as one who “multa bona contulit Herefordensi capitulo.”
[A.D. 1163-1167.] Robert de Melun (of Maledon), called by the annalist of St. David’s “Episcopus Anglorum sapientissimus.” He was present at the famous scene between Becket and Henry at Northampton, when he attempted, with Foliot, to take the cross from the hands of the Archbishop, to whose side he seems to have adhered.
[A.D. 1174-1186.] Robert Foliot, a friend and fellow-student of Becket, and probably a relative of Bishop Gilbert of London, although this is not certain. He was one of the four English bishops who in 1179 attended the Lateran Council convened by Alexander III., in which the Albigenses and Waldenses were excommunicated[48].
[A.D. 1186-1199.] William de Vere, son of Alberic de Vere, third Earl of Oxford. Bishop de Vere is said by Godwin to have built much, (multa dicitur construxisse,) but no part of the existing cathedral can be assigned to him, and indeed the authority for Godwin’s statement does not appear.
[A.D. 1200-1215.] Giles de Bruce, or de Braose, son of William, Lord Brecknock. He sided with the barons against King John, and was compelled to leave his see, the temporalities of which were seized by the Crown. He was afterwards allowed to return, and died at Gloucester in 1215. Bishop Giles is generally said to have built the central tower of his cathedral, but this (see Pt. I. § X.) is undoubtedly an error.