Richard of Dover - Archbishop

Archbishop

In 1173, more than two years after the murder of Becket, King Henry II of England decided to fill the vacant archbishopric of Canterbury; there were two candidates: Richard, and Odo, prior of Canterbury. Previously, Roger, the abbot of Bec Abbey, had been elected, but refused the office. On 3 June 1173, Richard was chosen, although the monks preferred Odo. Both sides appealed to Rome, and Richard journeyed to Rome with Reginald fitz Jocelin, who had recently been elected Bishop of Bath, to rebut the charges of simony, illegitimate birth, and swearing an oath to the king that had been raised. After hearing the charges, they were dismissed and the election was ratified on 2 April 1174 and on 7 April 1174 the new archbishop was consecrated at Anagni by Pope Alexander III. Richard returned to England at the close of the year bearing his pallium which he had received directly from the pope. He was also granted legatine powers by Alexander III.

Richard clashed with Roger de Pont L'Evêque, the Archbishop of York, over the respective rights of the two sees throughout his time as archbishop. In 1175, at a council held in London, there was a fight between their supporters. King Henry II managed to secure a truce for five years between the two archbishops but Richard was soon embroiled in another dispute. This one was with Roger, abbot of St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury and revolved around whether or not the abbey depended directly on the pope or if the archbishop had jurisdictional rights over the abbey. In the end, the papacy arranged a settlement that left the abbey dependent on the pope direct, but gave the archbishop spiritual authority over the churches of the Isle of Thanet, which had previously been held by the abbey.

Richard's time as archbishop was much less stormy than Becket's had been, and he seems to have enjoyed better relations with the king. Richard attended the royal councils, and more than once was with the king in Normandy. Richard was less dogmatic on the rights of the clergy than his great predecessor had been; but his compromises were regarded by the monastic writers and the followers of Becket as a sign of weakness. Pope Alexander III took Richard to task when Richard acquiesced in the election of bishops taking place in the royal chapel. As part of his diplomatic efforts on the king's behalf, Richard escorted Henry's daughter Joan to Provence on her journey in 1176 to marry King William II of Sicily. Richard also spent part of 1177 in Flanders on diplomatic business for King Henry.