William de St-Calais (died 2 January 1096) was a medieval Norman monk, abbot of the abbey of Saint-Vincent in Le Mans in Maine, who was nominated by King William I of England as Bishop of Durham in 1080. During his term as bishop, St-Calais replaced the canons of his cathedral chapter with monks, and began the construction of Durham Cathedral. In addition to his ecclesiastical duties, he served as a commissioner for the Domesday Book of 1086. He was also a councillor and advisor to both King William I and his son, King William II, known as William Rufus. Following William Rufus' accession to the throne in 1087, St-Calais is considered by scholars to have been the new king's chief advisor.
When the king's uncle, Odo of Bayeux, raised a rebellion against the king in 1088, St-Calais was implicated in the revolt. William Rufus laid siege to St-Calais in the bishop's stronghold of Durham, and later put him on trial for treason. A contemporary record of this trial, the De Iniusta Vexacione Willelmi Episcopi Primi, is the earliest surviving detailed contemporary report of an English state-trial. Imprisoned briefly, St-Calais was allowed to go into exile after his castle at Durham was surrendered to the king. He went to Normandy, where he became a leading advisor to Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, the elder brother of William Rufus. By 1091, St-Calais had returned to England and regained royal favour.
In England, St-Calais once more became a leading advisor to the king. In 1093, he negotiated with Anselm, Abbot of Bec, concerning Anselm's becoming Archbishop of Canterbury; in 1095, it was St-Calais who prosecuted the royal case against Anselm after he had become archbishop. During his bishopric, St-Calais stocked the cathedral library with books, especially canon law texts. He was also active in defending the north of England against Scots raids. Before his death, he had made his peace with Anselm, who blessed and consoled St-Calais on his deathbed.
Early life St-Calais was a Norman, and a native of Bayeux;Powell and Wallis House of Lords p. 36 he may have been a member of one of its clerical dynasties.Barlow "St Calais, William of" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography His mother's name, Ascelina or Anselma, is given in Durham's records; his father, whose name is unknown, became a monk at the monastery of Saint-Calais in Maine, and may previously have been a knight.Aird "Absent Friend" Anglo-Norman Durham p. 287 Although St-Calais is generally referred to as Saint Calais or St-Calais, the main source of information about his life, the monastic chronicle of Symeon of Durham, does not call him such.Aird "Absent Friend" Anglo-Norman Durham p. 288
St-Calais studied under Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, the half-brother of the future William I of England, who was then Duke of Normandy.Barlow William Rufus pp. 60–62 Other bishops educated at Bayeux around this time included Archbishop Thomas of York and Samson, Bishop of Worcester.Barlow English Church 1066–1154 p. 58 Symeon of Durham considered St-Calais to be well-educated in classical literature and the scriptures; at some point St-Calais also acquired a knowledge of canon law. He became a Benedictine monk at Saint-Calais in Maine, where his father had become a monk, and soon became the prior of that house. He became abbot of St Vincent-des-Prés near Le Mans in Maine, sometime around 1078. As abbot, his only appearance in historical records is his upholding of the monasteries' right to some property, and his acceptance of a gift of property in the town.Aird "Absent Friend" Anglo-Norman Durham pp. 288–289
William the Conqueror nominated him to the see of Durham on 9 November 1080, and he was duly consecrated on either 27 December 1080 or 3 January 1081.Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 241Greenway "Durham: Bishops" Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 2: Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces) His elevation may have been a reward for diplomatic services he rendered to the king in France,Barlow English Church p. 64 or to help secure the see from further disorder following the death of the previous bishop, Walcher, during a feud. However, it was most likely in recognition of his administrative ability. Symeon of Durham stated that St-Calais was chosen as a bishop for this reason,Aird "Absent Friend" Anglo-Norman Durham pp. 289–290 describing him as "very well versed in sacred and secular learning, very conscientious in matters of divine and worldly business, and so remarkable for good conduct that he had no equal amongst his contemporaries".Quoted in Aird "Absent Friend" Anglo-Norman Durham p. 290
Early ecclesiastical affairs The chronicler Symeon of Durham asserted that when St-Calais was consecrated bishop by Archbishop Thomas of York, he managed to avoid professing obedience to the archbishop, which, if true, would have freed St-Calais from interference in his diocese.Barlow English Church p. 39 After his appointment, St-Calais decided to replace his cathedral chapter of secular clergy with monks, and consulted the king and Lanfranc, the Archbishop of Canterbury, before going to Rome to receive permission from Pope Gregory VII.Knowles Monastic Order p. 169 These consultations, and the conditions within his diocese, may have kept St-Calais from visiting Durham until some time after his elevation.Green Aristocracy pp. 109–110 In 1083 he expelled the married clergy from the cathedral,Chibnall Anglo-Norman England p. 42 and moved a small community of monks from Bede's old monastery at Jarrow to Durham, to form the new chapter. This community had been founded at Jarrow by Reinfrid, a Norman ex-knight and monk of Evesham Abbey, and Eadwine, an English monk from Winchcombe Abbey.Douglas William the Conqueror p. 328 After the community had settled in Durham, St-Calais named Eadwine as prior, and arranged for lands to be set aside to support the monks. The expelled clergy were offered the option of joining the new monastic house, but only one actually joined.
St-Calais enjoyed good relations with his cathedral chapter, and they supported him when construction began on a new church in 1093.Knowles Monastic Order pp. 169–170 After demolishing an Anglo-Saxon church, he and Prior Turgot of Durham laid the foundation stone on 11 August 1093 for what would later become Durham Cathedral.Page, ed. "Houses of Benedictine Monks" History of the County of Durham pp. 86–103
St-Calais also gave a set of constitutions to the cathedral chapter, modeled on Lanfranc's rule for Canterbury.Knowles Monastic Order p. 131 Symeon of Durham said that the bishop acted towards the monks of his chapter as a "loving father", and that the monks fully returned the sentiment.Knowles Monastic Order p. 623 St-Calais is said to have researched the pre-Norman Conquest customs of the cathedral exhaustively, before re-establishing monks in the cathedral.Knowles Monastic Order p. 625 He imposed the Monastic Constitutions of Lanfranc on the community, instead of the older Regularis Concordia.Williams English and the Norman Conquest p. 136Williams English and the Norman Conquest p. 153
Work for William the Conqueror During William the Conqueror's reign, St-Calais was a frequent witness on charters. While it is often difficult to determine who was considered most important on a charter's witness list, placement near the top usually indicates that the signatory was considered important. Almost always during the Conqueror's reign, St-Calais is listed right below the royal family and the archbishops.
The king sent St-Calais on diplomatic missions to the French royal court and to Rome.Aird "Absent Friend" Anglo-Norman Durham p. 291 After the king imprisoned Odo of Bayeux, Pope Gregory VII complained to him. The pope was also concerned about the king's refusal to allow the delivery of papal letters to the English bishops unless royal permission was secured. To placate the pope, the king dispatched St-Calais to Rome, possibly with Lanfranc, to explain to the pope the reasons for imprisoning Odo.Barlow Feudal Kingdom p. 130 St-Calais also served as a commissioner in the south-western part of England for the Domesday Book, which aimed to survey the whole of England and record who owned the lands.Chibnall Anglo-Norman England p. 111Holt "1086" Domesday Studies p. 47 Some historians, including David Bates, have argued that St-Calais was the driving force behind the organization of the entire Domesday survey,Chaplais "William of Saint-Calais" Domesday Studies pp. 76–77Bates William the Conqueror p. 201 although other candidates have been put forward, including Samson, Bishop of Worcester, before he became bishop.Chaplais "William of Saint-Calais" Domesday Studies pp. 68–70 Pierre Chaplais, who argues for St-Calais being the main organizer of the survey, argues the bishop's exile in 1088 interrupted work on the Little Domesday Book, a subproject of the survey which was left uncompleted.Roffe Decoding Domesday p. 98
Rebellion
Soon after the accession of William Rufus, St-Calais became one of the king's most trusted lieutenants,Mason William II pp. 53–55 along with the recently released Odo of Bayeux.Poole Domesday Book to Magna Carta pp. 100–104 Later chroniclers often referred to the position that St-Calais held as justiciar, although the formal office did not yet exist.Lyon Constitutional and Legal History pp. 152–153 Around Easter 1088, Odo of Bayeux and many of the nobles revolted against the king and tried to place the king's elder brother Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, on the throne. After the king had set off with St-Calais and some troops to counter Odo in Kent, St-Calais suddenly deserted, shutting himself in Durham Castle. Why St-Calais joined the rebellion, or at least did nothing to aid the king, is unclear.Aird "Absent Friend" Anglo-Norman Durham p. 293 He and Odo had never been close, and although St-Calais was educated at Bayeux, there is no evidence that Odo helped St-Calais's career. Some historians, including W. M. Aird, have suggested that St-Calais felt the division of the Conqueror's realm between two sons was unwise. It has been suggested that St Calais joined the rebellion to reunite the Normans and English under one ruler.
St-Calais was the only bishop who did not actively aid the king; the rebelling magnates included Roger de Montgomery Earl of Shrewsbury, Robert de Mowbray Earl of Northumbria, and Odo's brother Robert Count of Mortain. The rebellion had failed by the end of the summer,Powell and Wallis House of Lords p. 49 but St-Calais continued to hold out in Durham, at first claiming he had never actually rebelled. When the king's army arrived, St-Calais agreed to come out, but only after receiving a safe conduct that would allow him to attend a trial while his men continued to hold the castle.Crouch Normans p. 135Mason William II pp. 64–71 St-Calais's actions suggest that he did rebel, whatever his claims to the contrary and affirmations of his innocence in northern chronicles.
Trial