Walter de Coutances (died 16 November 1207) was a medieval Anglo-Norman bishop of Lincoln and archbishop of Rouen. He began his royal service in the government of Henry II, serving as a vice-chancellor. He also accumulated a number of ecclesiastical offices, becoming successively canon of Rouen Cathedral, treasurer of Rouen, and archdeacon of Oxford. King Henry sent him on a number of diplomatic missions and finally rewarded him with the bishopric of Lincoln in 1183. He did not remain there long, for he was translated to Rouen in late 1184.
When Richard I, King Henry's son, became king in 1189, Coutances absolved Richard for his rebellion against his father and invested him as Duke of Normandy. He then accompanied Richard to Sicily as the king began the Third Crusade, but events in England prompted Richard to send the archbishop back to England to mediate between William Longchamp, the justiciar whom Richard had left in charge of the kingdom, and Prince John, Richard's younger brother. Coutances succeeded in securing a peace between Longchamp and John, but further actions by Longchamp led to the justiciar's expulsion from England, replaced in his role by Coutances, even though he never formally used the title. He remained in the office until late 1193, when he was summoned to Germany by the king, who was being held in captivity there. Coutances became a hostage for the final payment of Richard's ransom on the king's release in February 1194.
Coutances took no further part in the English government after returning from Germany. Instead, he became involved in Norman affairs, including a dispute with Richard over the ownership of Andely manor, an archiepiscopal property that Richard desired as a fortress. Eventually, the archbishop surrendered it to the king in return for two other manors and the seaport of Dieppe. Richard went on to build the castle of Gaillard on the former archiepiscopal manor. After Richard's death, Coutances invested Prince John as Duke of Normandy, but was forced to pay 2100 Angevin pounds to secure contested rights from the new king. After John lost control of Normandy in 1204, the archbishop did not resist the new government of King Philip II of France. Coutances died in November 1207 and was buried in his cathedral.
Early life
Coutances was born in Cornwall,Spear "Norman Empire" Journal of British Studies p. 8 to Reinfrid and Gonilla. His brother was Roger fitzReinfrid,Turner "Coutances, Walter de" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography a layman and royal justice during the reign of King Henry II of England.Turner English Judiciary p. 62 Although the medieval chronicler and churchman Gerald of Wales related that his friend was descended from Trojan heroes who escaped the Sack of Troy and ended up in Cornwall, that was a flattering invention on Gerald's part. Coutances' family was of the knightly class, and probably from Normandy originally.Turner "Changing Perceptions" Judges, Administrators and the Common Law p. 241
Coutances was usually given the title of magister, which signified that he had received an education in a school; most likely, he attended the schools of Paris. Gerald of Wales said that Coutances was dedicated to learning and considered him to be a talented courtier.
Service to King Henry
Coutances started his career as a clerk to King Henry II of England in the royal chamber.Lyon Constitutional History p. 266 He probably owed the position to his brother, who was already in royal service. Coutances may have been associated with the Beaumont family faction at court before beginning work for the king, but this is not certain.Peltzer "Henry II and the Norman Bishops" English Historical Review pp. 1222–1225
By 1169 Coutances held a canonry in Rouen Cathedral. During the 1170s a group of royal clerks rose to prominence, among them Coutances, Walter Map, Ralph Diceto, John of Oxford, Richard of Ilchester, and Geoffrey Ridel.Joliffe Angevin Kingship pp. 144–145 Coutances was the chaplain to Henry the Young King, eldest living son of King Henry, but when the younger Henry rebelled against his father in 1173, Coutances returned to King Henry's service.Schriber Dilemma of Arnulf of Lisieux p. 116 He became Archdeacon of Oxford, perhaps by 1173, certainly by 14 March 1176.Greenway "Archdeacons of Oxford" Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 3: Lincoln He was named vice-chancellor when Ralph de Warneville became Chancellor of England, which occurred in 1173.Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 84 In 1176 and 1177, King Henry sent Coutances on diplomatic missions to Flanders and the French royal court. Arnulf, the Bishop of Lisieux, alleged that Henry allowed Coutances to use all the administrative machinery of Normandy to drive Arnulf from his diocese, so that Coutances might become bishop there.Joliffe Angevin Kingship p. 208 footnote 4 This happened in early 1178, but the only real evidence for this effort on Coutances' part comes from Arnulf's correspondence, and as Coutances was back in England by July 1178, it does not appear that the attempt was a sustained one.Schriber Dilemma of Arnulf of Lisieux pp. 118–119
On his return to England, Coutances was given custody of the abbeys of Wilton and Ramsey, which were being held by King Henry pending the election of new abbots. He thus acquired the right to collect the abbeys' revenues in the name of the king, who had the regalian rights to that income.Coredon Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases p. 237 In 1180, Henry sent Coutances to France on another diplomatic mission. In February 1182, Coutances witnessed King Henry II's will, made before the king travelled to Normandy.Warren Henry II p. 559 and footnote 4
Bishop of Lincoln and Archbishop of Rouen
Coutances was elected to the see of Lincoln on 8 May 1183, selected by King Henry over three other candidates. He was ordained a priest on 11 June 1183 and consecrated bishop on 3 July 1183Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 255 at Angers by Richard of Dover, the Archbishop of Canterbury. He was enthroned at Lincoln Cathedral on 11 December 1183.Greenway "Bishops of Lincoln" Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 3: Lincoln While at Lincoln, Coutances took part in the election of Baldwin of Forde as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, which took place at a council held in Westminster in 1184. Writing about Coutances' time at Lincoln, Gerald of Wales accused the bishop of increasing the debt of the diocese of Lincoln and of squandering its resources. Coutances helped the schools in the city of Lincoln, acting as the patron for scholars such as John of Tynemouth and Simon of Southwell.Scammell Hugh du Puiset p. 70
On 17 November 1184, Coutances was translated to the diocese of Rouen, becoming Archbishop of Rouen. The original election to Rouen had taken place in the summer. King Henry had initially rejected the Rouen cathedral chapter's nominees and put forward three English bishops as the royal candidates. The king also indicated his preference that Coutances be elected, a choice that was confirmed by the pope in November. Coutances hesitated about the translation to Rouen, as the see there was poorer than Lincoln, but as an archbishopric rather than a bishopric, it was of a higher status. The medieval chronicler William of Newburgh wrote that eventually Coutances' ambition overcame his greed, and he agreed to the translation. He was received at Rouen on 3 March 1185. Coutances remained in Henry's service, however, and continued to attend the royal court frequently. During the final 10 years of Henry's reign, only Ranulf de Glanville witnessed more royal charters, and only William de Humez, the constable, equalled the 16 charters that Coutances witnessed.Turner "Richard Barre and Michael Belet" Judges, Administrators and the Common Law p. 181 footnote 4
In the later part of 1186, after the death of King Henry's son Geoffrey—who was Duke of Brittany—King Philip II of France demanded that Geoffrey's daughters be placed in the French king's custody, and that the duchy of Brittany, which Geoffrey had ruled in right of his wife, be surrendered into French royal custody. Coutances was one of the negotiators sent by King Henry to secure a settlement, but they had to settle for a temporary truce.Warren Henry II p. 610 In January 1188, Coutances took the cross when he pledged to go on Crusade along with King Henry and King Philip of France.
At Whitsun in 1189, Coutances was a member of a commission appointed by the papal legate John of Anagni to arbitrate the dispute between King Henry II of England and his son, Richard, who King Philip II of France supported. Henry and Richard's conflict stemmed from Richard's desire to secure his inheritance to the throne of England, which he believed his father was trying to give to his youngest brother, John. The commission met near Le Mans. Richard and Philip insisted that Richard should be married to Philip's sister Alice, that Henry name Richard as Henry's heir, and that Richard's youngest brother John, should go on crusade with Richard. Henry rejected those terms, and neither Philip nor Richard would negotiate, even under the legate's threat of an interdict on France.Gillingham Richard I pp. 94–98
Service to King Richard
Shortly after Richard took the throne, he sought absolution for his sins in rebelling against his father from Baldwin of Forde and Coutances. The two archbishops absolved Richard in a ceremony in Sées.Gillingham Richard I p. 104 Coutances also invested Richard as Duke of Normandy in a ceremony held in Rouen, before accompanying Richard to England, where he participated in the new king's coronation, on 3 September 1189.Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 36
In 1189, Coutances held an ecclesiastical synod which legislated, among other things, that the clergy should not hold secular offices, even though Coutances himself had held and continued to hold such offices.Turner "Clerical Judges" Judges, Administrators and the Common Law p. 163 On 9 November 1189 Richard appointed Coutances to a commission tasked with deciding the dispute between Baldwin of Forde and the monks of his cathedral chapter over Baldwin's plan to create a church dedicated to Thomas Becket, the murdered Archbishop of Canterbury, and to staff this church not with monks, but with canons.Young Hubert Walter pp. 31–32 The monks of Canterbury Cathedral objected to Baldwin's plan, fearing that it was part of a plot to transfer the right of election from the monastic cathedral chapter to the new church's canons.Young Hubert Walter p. 13 Sitting on the commission with Coutances were Hugh de Puiset, the Bishop of Durham, Godfrey de Lucy, the Bishop of Winchester, Hubert Walter, the Bishop of Salisbury, Peter de Leia, the Bishop of St David's, Richard fitzNigel, the Bishop-elect of London, William Longchamp, the Bishop-elect of Ely, and some abbots. The commission travelled to Canterbury, and on 29 November 1189, managed to secure a compromise between the parties, which lasted until Hubert Walter, by then Archbishop of Canterbury, revived the plan. In the compromise, Baldwin agreed to give up the idea of a new monastic foundation around Canterbury and the monks agreed to submit to the archbishop's authority.
When Richard left England in late 1189, the archbishop accompanied him to Normandy and then to Sicily, where Richard began the Third Crusade. In October 1190, Coutances was one of the negotiators between the city of Messina and the crusaders, and later was a guarantor of the peace treaty between King Richard and Tancred, the King of Sicily. The archbishop was also appointed one of the treasurers of the crusading army.