Hilary (c. 1110–1169) was a bishop of Chichester in England. English by birth, he studied canon law and worked in Rome as a papal clerk. During his time there, he became acquainted with a number of ecclesiastics, including the future Pope Adrian IV, and the writer John of Salisbury. In England, he served as a clerk for Henry of Blois, who was the bishop of Winchester and brother of King Stephen of England. After Hilary's unsuccessful nomination to become Archbishop of York, Pope Eugene III compensated him by promoting him to the bishopric of Chichester in 1147.
Hilary spent many years in a struggle with Battle Abbey, attempting to assert his right as bishop to oversee the abbey. He also clashed with Thomas Becket, then chancellor to King Henry II of England, later Archbishop of Canterbury; Hilary supported King Henry II's position in the conflict with Becket. Henry appointed Hilary as sheriff and employed him as a judge in the royal courts. The papacy also used Hilary as a judge-delegate to hear cases referred back to England. Known for supporting his clergy and as a canon lawyer, or someone trained in ecclesiastical law, Hilary worked to have Edward the Confessor, a former English king, canonised as a saint.
Early life Hilary was probably born around 1110 and was likely of low birth, but nothing is known of his ancestry. His brother was a canon of Salisbury Cathedral, and they both may have come from around Salisbury.Mayr-Harting "Hilary" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Hilary served as a clerk for Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester, and as dean of the church of Christchurch in Twynham, Hampshire (now Dorset), probably receiving both offices through the influence of Henry of Blois.Mayr-Harting "Hilary of Chichester and Henry II" English Historical Review p. 209 Christchurch was a collegiate church of secular clergy, or clergy who were not monks,Knowles Episcopal Colleagues pp. 24–27 and Hilary was dean of the church by 1139. He was educated as a canon lawyer, and was an advocate, or lawyer, in Rome in 1144.Greenway Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 5: Chichester: BishopsCosman Medieval Wordbook p. 2 While in Rome, he also served in the papal chancery, or writing office, in 1146.Duggan "From the Conquest to the Death of John" English Church and the Papacy p. 86Coredon Dictionary p. 66 Some of his colleagues in the chancery were Robert Pullen, John of Salisbury, and Nicholas Breakspear, who later became pope, as Adrian IV.Poole Domesday Book to Magna Carta p. 195
As Dean of Christchurch, Hilary restored the organisation to its traditional round of religious ceremonies that had been abandoned by his predecessors, as well as securing grants of privileges and lands.Doubleday and Page History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 2: Houses of Austin Canons: Priory of Christchurch, Twyneham He ordered the writing of a history of the church at Christchurch, a book which still survives.Williams English and the Norman Conquest p. 128 Hilary was unsuccessful as a candidate for the archbishopric of York against Henry Murdac in 1147, but Pope Eugene III chose to compensate him by appointing him to the see of Chichester.Barlow English Church pp. 98–99 His candidacy to York had been supported by Hugh de Puiset, then treasurer of York and later Bishop of Durham, and by Robert of Ghent, who was Dean of York and Lord Chancellor of England, as well as by King Stephen of England. Hilary seems to have received the largest number of votes, but because the election was disputed by Murdac's supporters, the result was referred to the papacy, and Eugene chose Murdac. Hilary was appointed to Chichester in July 1147, and he was consecrated on 3 August 1147.Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 238 Theobald of Bec, the Archbishop of Canterbury, consecrated him at Canterbury, with Nigel, the Bishop of Ely, Robert, the Bishop of Bath, and William de Turbeville, the Bishop of Norwich, assisting in the ceremony. For a number of years, Hilary continued to hold the deanship in plurality,Saltman Theobald pp. 100–102 which is the holding of two or more ecclesiastical benefices at once.Hamilton Religion in the Medieval West p. 39
Stephen's reign
King Stephen sent Hilary to attend a church council at Reims in 1148 along with Robert de Bethune, who was the Bishop of Hereford, and William de Turbeville. Theobald of Bec was also present, even though the king had forbidden him to attend.Barlow English Church p. 112 The medieval chronicler Gervase of Canterbury stated that Stephen wanted to weaken Theobald's standing with the papacy, but Stephen also would have wished to assert his authority over the English Church by insisting on the right to limit papal contact with the English bishops, something that his predecessors had always done.Saltman Theobald p. 25
Hilary attempted to excuse the king's attempt to exclude Theobald from the council, which appears to be the main reason why Stephen allowed Hilary to attend. Hilary was rewarded for his loyalty by being named a queen's chaplain. Soon after the council, Robert de Bethune died and Gilbert Foliot was elected to the see of Hereford, at the direction of the pope. Theobald was in exile in Flanders because he had defied the king, so the pope ordered Robert de Sigello, the Bishop of London, Josceline de Bohon, the Bishop of Salisbury, and Hilary, to go to Flanders to help Theobald consecrate Gilbert. However, the three bishops were reluctant and told the pope that because Gilbert had not received the royal assent, nor had he sworn fealty to Stephen, they would not consecrate him. Theobald then consecrated Gilbert with the help of some continental bishops.Saltman Theobald pp. 25–30 Hilary was one of the bishops who made peace between Theobald and Stephen after the council at Reims,Mayr-Harting "Hilary of Chichester and Henry II" English Historical Review p. 213 helping in the negotiations after Theobald's return to England. Theobald settled at Hugh Bigod's castle of Framlingham; negotiations between the royal party and the archbishop's party resulted in the king yielding and in the restoration of the archbishop to his lands.Saltman Theobald pp. 29–30
Struggle with Battle Abbey
Hilary struggled with the abbot of Battle Abbey for many years over the exemption claimed by the abbey from the oversight of the Bishop of Chichester, in whose diocese it was located.Knowles Monastic Order p. 589 The abbey had never received a papal exemption but relied instead on its royal foundation by William I of England, and its status as an eigenkirche, or proprietary church of the king.Warren Henry II pp. 429–432 Under Stephen, the abbey's claims prevailed, but after Stephen's death, Hilary excommunicated the abbot, who appealed to the papacy.Searle "Battle Abbey" English Historical Review pp. 453–454 The appeal backfired when Hilary obtained from both Pope Eugene III and Adrian IV orders for the abbot to obey the bishop. In 1157, the then Abbot of Battle, Walter de Lucy, brother of Richard de Luci, the Chief Justiciar, took the case before Henry II, at a council held at Colchester.
At the council, Walter de Lucy produced William I's foundation charter and the confirmation by Henry I of England, Henry II's grandfather. Both documents were admitted as genuine, and as freeing the abbey from ecclesiastical oversight, as Henry II had at his coronation confirmed all his grandfather's charters. Modern scholarship has shown, however, that at least one of the documents had been recently forged, shortly before 1155.Barlow Thomas Becket pp. 49–51Searle "Battle Abbey" English Historical Review pp. 449–480 Hilary argued that only a papal privilege could exempt a monastery from episcopal oversight and that the abbey had no such privilege. Hilary argued that no king could grant such an exemption unless they had a licence from the papacy. Henry was unimpressed by this argument, for it impinged on his royal prerogative. Thomas Becket, then Henry's chancellor but later to be famous for his dispute with Henry over ecclesiastical privileges, was one of Hilary's chief opponents at this council.Powell and Wallis House of Lords p. 79 and footnote 45 Eventually, the case was decided by persuading Hilary to renounce any episcopal claims on the abbey.
Henry II's biographer, the historian W. L. Warren, suggests that Hilary was pressed to bring the case against Battle Abbey by his cathedral chapter and that Hilary did not pursue the case vigorously. The historian Henry Mayr-Harting sees the case against the abbey as the lone exception in Hilary's long career of support for the royal position against the papacy, and argues that the only reason Hilary opposed the king in this respect was that it was Hilary's own rights as a diocesan bishop that were being flouted. Mayr-Harting also suggests that Theobald of Bec was supporting Hilary's efforts to assert Chichester's rights.Mayr-Harting "Hilary of Chichester" English Historical Review pp. 222–224
The historian Nicholas Vincent argues that the entire basis of this account, which ultimately rests on the Chronicle of Battle Abbey, is part of the forgeries produced by the Battle monks. He argues that the only documentary evidence detailing the course of the legal battle besides the Chronicle is a forged charter of Henry II to the abbey and a letter of Theobald's that itself may be forged, as it repeats the story of the Chronicle almost word for word. Vincent's point is that although there was no doubt a dispute between Hilary and the abbey over a claimed exemption, as evidenced by a 1170 letter of Becket's referring to some sort of settlement between the monks and the bishop, the actual account in the Chronicle is untrustworthy. Unfortunately, the 1170 letter does not give any details of the dispute, merely stating that the bishop was "forced to make public peace with the abbot".Vincent "King Henry II and the Monks of Battle" Belief and Culture in the Middle Ages pp. 282–283
Henry II's reign
Hilary held the office of Sheriff of Sussex in 1155,Poole Domesday Book to Magna Carta p. 222 footnote 3 and then again in 1160 through 1162. It was unusual for a bishop to hold the post of sheriff, and was a measure of the trust that King Henry II had in Hilary. Hilary was the only bishop to hold the office of sheriff during Henry's reign, with the possible exception of Robert de Chesney, the Bishop of Lincoln. An English church council in 1143 had forbidden clergy to hold office as stewards or tax gatherers for non-clergy.Cheney Becket to Langton pp. 21–22 As the office of sheriff involved the gathering of the county farm, or income from the county, and the payment of those revenues into the Exchequer, clergy holding office as sheriffs would have been acting against the decrees of the 1143 council.Chrimes Introduction p. 55Coredon Dictionary p. 120 Hilary was well known as a canon lawyer, and was often employed by the papacy as a judge-delegate, hearing cases that had been appealed to Rome, and then sent back to the country of origin for trial.Warren Henry II p. 472 He also assisted other papal judges, including Theobald of Bec. Hilary served in England as a royal justice in 1156, and then was with the king in Normandy from late 1156 to April 1157.Mayr-Harting "Hilary of Chichester and Henry II" English Historical Review pp. 215–216 Hilary acted as judge-delegate for the papacy in at least 15 cases during his bishopric.Robinson Papacy p. 194 He acted as a legal advisor to Henry II on a number of occasions, and Hilary's clerks occasionally drew up documents for the king.Mayr-Harting "Hilary of Chichester and Henry II" English Historical Review pp. 216–218