Herfast was born in Normandy.
He joined William
the Conqueror during
the invasion of England and after the Battle
of Hastings was appointed as head of the royal writing office.
In 1069 Herfast became the first government official to be given the
title of chancellor.
In 1070 Herfast became
the Bishop of East Anglia. He based his activities at Thetford but
soon came into conflict with the Abbey of Bury St. Edmund's. Lanfranc
of Pavia, the Archbishop of Canterbury, ruled against Herfast
and told him that "were you to devote less time to gambling and
games of chance, to read the Bible for a change and to learn some
canon law... you would cease to argue with your mother church".
Herfast died in 1084.
The
Normans: Classroom Activities
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