William de Corbeil - Archiepiscopal Activities

Archiepiscopal Activities

Legatine councils in 1125, 1127 and 1129 were held in Westminster, the last two called by Archbishop William. The council of 1125 met under the direction of John of Crema and prohibited simony, purchase of the sacraments, and the inheritance of clerical benefices. John of Crema had been sent to England not only to seek a compromise in the Canterbury-York dispute, but to publicize the decrees of the First Council of the Lateran held in 1123, which neither William nor Thurstan had attended. Included in canons were the rejection of hereditary claims to a benefice or prebend, which was a source of consternation to the clergy. Also prohibited was the presence of any women in clergy's households unless they were relatives. In 1127 the council condemned the purchase of benefices, priesthoods, or places in monastic houses. It also enacted canons declaring that clergy who refused to give up their wives or concubines would be deprived of their benefices, and that any such women who did not leave the parish where they had been could be expelled and even forced into slavery. Lastly, in 1129 the clergy were once more admonished to live a celibate life and to put aside their wives. This council was presided over by King Henry, who then undermined the force of the prohibition of concubines by permitting the clergy to pay a fine to the royal treasury in order to keep their women. William's allowance of this royal fine was condemned by the chronicler Henry of Huntingdon. The festival of the Conception was also allowed at one of these councils.

As well as the councils, William was active in his diocese, and was interested in reforming the churches in his diocese. A conlict with Alexander of Lincoln over a church in Alexander's diocese led to further condemnation by Henry of Huntingon and prompted Henry to write that "no one can sing praises because there's nothing to sing about." William seems to have been somewhat eclipsed in ecclesiastical administration and appointments by Roger of Salisbury, Bishop of Salisbury, and King Henry's primary advisor. William reformed the nunnery of Minster-in-Sheppey however, and he installed a college of regular canons at the church of St. Gregory's, in Canterbury. He also secured a profession of obedience from the newly installed abbot of St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury. His legateship from Honorius lapsed when the pope died in February 1130, but it was renewed by Honorius' successor Pope Innocent II in 1132.

During William's last years he attempted to reform St Martin's, Dover. The king had granted the church to the archbishop and the diocese of Canterbury in 1130, and William had a new church building constructed near Dover. The archbishop had planned to install canons regular into the church, and on William's deathbed dispatched a party of canons from Merton Priory to take over St Martin's. However, the party of canons, who had been accompanied by two bishops and some other clergy, were prevented from entering by a monk of Canterbury Cathedral, who claimed that St Martin's belonged to the monks of the cathedral chapter. The canons from Merton did not press the issue in the face of the Canterbury chapter's appeal to Rome, and after William's death, the cathedral chapter sent 12 monks to St Martin's instead.

The construction of the keep of Rochester Castle—at 115 feet (35 m), the tallest Norman-built keep in England—was initiated at William's orders. Built for King Henry, it is still intact, although it no longer has a roof or floors. The work at Rochester was built within the stone curtain walls that Gundulf of Rochester had erected in the late 11th century. The keep was designed not only for defence but also to provide comfortable living quarters, which were probably intended for use by the archbishops when they visited Rochester. In 1127, the custody of Rochester Castle was granted to William and his successors as archbishop by King Henry, including the right to fortify the place as the archbishops wished, and the right to garrison the castle with their own men. In the view of the historian Judith Green, the grant of the castle was partly to secure the loyalty of the archbishop to the king, and partly to help secure the defences of the coast. William also completed the construction of Canterbury Cathedral, which was dedicated in May 1130.