Henry of Blois

Henry of Blois, often known as Henry of Winchester;^[1] (1101 – 1171) was Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey from 1126 and Bishop of Winchester from 1129 to his death.

Life

Henry was one of five sons of Stephen, Count of Blois by Adela of Normandy (daughter of William the Conqueror) and therefore brother of King Stephen.^[2] 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. 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^[3] and allowed to keep his beloved Glastonbury Abbey. He was consecrated bishop on 17 November 1129.^[3] 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^[4]. 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 Peter's translation of the Koran from Arabic to Latin.

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 1185. Unlike most bishops of his age, Henry had a passion for architecture. He built the final additions to Winchester Cathedral and Winchester Palace, 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^[5] and began the construction of the hospital of St Cross at Winchester.

Bishop Henry was also enamored of books and their distribution. He wrote or sponsored several books including the Antiquities of Glastonbury, by William of Malmsbury, 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 on display in the British Museum and is considered a British National Treasure.

The expiration of his legatine commission on 23 September 1143^[2] 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 favors 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.

Hospital of St. Cross founded in the 1130's by Bishop Henry

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.

He died on 8 August 1171.^[3] Among his gifts to Cluny, was a pyx set with gems in the choir.^[6] Henry of Blois is now buried at Winchester in a plain stone crypt in the choir, but there is a controversy because some sources claim he was also buried at Cluny. During his lifetime he was occasionally referred to as a king without a throne, and the power behind the throne. In the Antiquities, William of Malmsbury who knew the bishop well, described him, saying, "Yet, in spite of his noble birth he blushes when praised."

Hank Harrison in the Crown of Stars claims Henry of Blois is the anonymous author of the famed book Perlesvaux, known in English as the High History of the Holy Grail. ^[7]

According to a local legend, Henry was commanding a ship that sailed through stormy weather before becoming becalmed at Gosport, whereupon Henry dubbed the town "God's Port, our haven". The phrase remains the official town motto.

See also

• List of bishops of Winchester

Notes

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• British History Online Bishops of Winchester accessed on 2 November 2007
• Lawrence, C. H. (2001). Medieval Monasticism: Forms of Religious Life in Western Europe in the Middle Ages (Third Edition ed.). New York: Longman. ISBN 0-582-40427-4. 
• History of Farnham Castle accessed on 2 November 2007
• Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde Handbook of British Chronology 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961

Further reading

• Stacy, N. E. (February 1999). "Henry of Blois and the Lordship of Glastonbury". The English Historical Review 114 (455): 1-33.