Lanfranc,
the son of a lawyer, was born in Pavia in about 1010. At the age of
twenty he left Italy and moved to France to complete his studies.
He moved to Normandy and in 1039 established
a school in Avranches.
In
1042 he became a monk at the Abbey of Bec. An outstanding biblical
scholar, Lanfranc became Prior of the Abbey of Bec in 1045. He opened
a school in the monastery and was soon attracting scholars from France,
Gascony, Brittany, Flanders, Germany and Italy. This included Anselm,
the future Archbishop of Canterbury.
Lanfranc
established a reputation as one of the world's most important biblical
scholars. In 1053 he came into conflict with William
the Conqueror
over
his disapproval of the duke's marriage to Matilda
of Flanders.
William ordered Lanfranc to leave Normandy but the two men were later
reconciled.
In
1063 William
the Conqueror
appointed
Lanfranc as Abbott of St. Stephen's in Caen. Three years later he
played an important role in persuading Pope Alexander II to support
the Norman invasion of England.
On
the death of Maurilius in 1067 Lanfranc was asked to become Archbishop
of Rouen. He refused and instead became William's representative in
Rome. In 1070 Lanfranc replaced Stigand
as
Archbishop of Canterbury. Over the next few years he rebuilt Canterbury
Cathedral on the model of St. Stephen's in Caen.
Lanfranc
was unimpressed with the quality of the English clergy and during
William's reign supported his policy of promoting foreigners to high
office in the Church. Lanfranc also ordered that in future no married
man was to be ordained as a priest. However, he allowed existing priests
to keep their wives.
Lanfranc
came into conflict with the Odo
of Bayeux
concerning
the ownership of land in Kent. Geoffrey
of Coutances ruled
in Lanfranc's favour and the lands were returned to the Church.
In 1075 Waltheof
confessed to Lanfranc that he was involved in a conspiracy to overthrow
William
the Conqueror.
Lanfranc insisted that Waltheof should tell the king of his actions.
Waltheof
did so and was executed on 31st May 1076. It is also claimed that
Lanfranc was behind William's decision to arrest and imprison Odo
of Bayeux
in
1082.
Lanfranc crowned William
Rufus king
on 26th September,
1087. The following
year he supported the new king against the attempts by some Normans,
including
Odo
of Bayeux,
Robert
of Mortain,
Richard
Fitz Gilbert,
William
Fitz Osbern
and Geoffrey
of Coutances, to
place
