Leofric (bishop) - Bishop

Bishop

When Bishop Lyfing died in 1046, the king made Leofric Bishop of Cornwall as well as Bishop of Crediton. The two sees, or bishoprics, held by Lyfing became the see of Exeter in 1050 when Bishop Leofric moved his episcopal seat from Crediton to Exeter and combined it with Cornwall. The move of the see received the support of Pope Leo IX, and dates from 1051. Although Leofric had been a royal clerk before he became bishop, after his elevation he managed to avoid entanglement in the various disputes taking place between the king and Godwin, Earl of Wessex. Instead he spent his energies on the administration of his diocese, but remained on good terms with the king. Leofric's penitential, the Leofric Missal, still survives, and it includes a prayer for a childless king, which probably referred to King Edward.

The abbey church of St. Peter's at Exeter became Leofric's cathedral and he was enthroned as Bishop of Exeter there on St Peter's Day in 1050 with King Edward in attendance. The king, and his wife Edith took part in the ceremony of enthronement, with both of them leading the bishop to his cathedra, or episcopal chair. Edith had dower rights to the town of Exeter, which may explain her presence at the ceremony.

Leofric replaced the monks with canons. The new community was given the Rule of Chrodegang by Leofric, which rule he had probably learned in Lotharingia before his return to England. Leofric moved the seat of his see because Crediton was too poor and rural, and Exeter was a city with protective walls and an abandoned church that could be used as the new cathedral. Leofric claimed that he found his diocese lacking in episcopal vestments and the other items required for church services, and his surviving list of gifts to the church noted that he gave vestments, crosses, chalices, censers, alter coverings, and other furnishings to the cathedral.

After the move to Exeter, Leofric worked to increase the endowment of the diocese, and especially the cathedral library, which he found almost empty upon his arrival. He later claimed that there were only five books owned by the cathedral chapter when he became bishop. He still remained on good terms with the king, for he was present at Edward's Christmas court in 1065 that saw the consecration of Edward's Westminster Abbey church at Westminster. No evidence survives that Leofric was employed by the king in any diplomatic missions, nor does Leofric appear to have attended any papal councils or synods. He was a supporter of the cult of Leo IX, who was proclaimed a saint after Leo's death.