Gilbert Foliot (c. 1110 – 18 February 1187) was a medieval English monk and prelate, successively Abbot of Gloucester, Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London. Born to an ecclesiastical family, he became a monk at Cluny Abbey in France at about the age of twenty. After holding two posts as prior in the Cluniac order, he was appointed Abbot of Gloucester Abbey in 1139, a promotion influenced by his kinsman Miles of Gloucester. During his tenure as abbot, he acquired additional land for the abbey and may have helped to fabricate some charters—legal deeds attesting property ownership—to gain advantage in a dispute with the Archbishops of York. Although Foliot recognised Stephen as the King of England, he may have also sympathised with the Empress Matilda's claim to the throne. He joined Matilda's supporters after her forces captured Stephen, and continued to write letters in support of Matilda even after Stephen's release.
Foliot accompanied Theobald of Bec, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to a papal council at Reims in 1148. During his time there, he was appointed to the Diocese of Hereford by Pope Eugene III. Despite a promise made in Reims not to recognise Stephen, Foliot, on his return to England, nevertheless swore fealty to the king, causing a temporary rift in his relationship with Henry of Anjou, Matilda's son, who eventually became King Henry II of England in 1154. When Theobald died in 1160, it was widely assumed that he would be replaced by Foliot, but King Henry nominated his Chancellor, Thomas Becket, instead. Foliot later claimed to have opposed this appointment and supported Henry during the king's dispute with the new archbishop. Foliot was translated, or moved, to the Diocese of London in 1163, perhaps as consolation for not receiving Canterbury.
During the great dispute between Becket and the king, Foliot was reviled by Becket and his supporters. He acted as an envoy for the king on a number of diplomatic missions related to this dispute and wrote a number of letters against Becket, which were circulated widely in Europe. Becket excommunicated Foliot on two occasions, the second of which precipitated the archbishop's murder. For a short period following Becket's death, the papacy kept Foliot excommunicate, but he was quickly absolved and allowed to resume his episcopal functions. In addition to his role in the Becket controversy, Foliot often served as a royal judge and was an active administrator and bishop in his different dioceses. He was a prolific letter writer, and some of his correspondence was collected after his death. He also wrote sermons and biblical commentaries, two of which are extant.
Early life
Foliot was probably the son of Robert Foliot—steward to David, Earl of Huntingdon, heir to the Scottish throne—and Robert's wife Agnes, sister of Robert de Chesney, Bishop of Lincoln. Whatever his parentage, Gilbert was certainly Robert de Chesney's nephew;Greenway "Bishops" Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 3: Lincoln another of his uncles, Reginald, was a monk of Gloucester Abbey and Abbot of Evesham Abbey.Knowles, et al. Heads of Religious Houses p. 47 Other ecclesiastics in his family included Robert Foliot, a later Bishop of Hereford perhaps from an Oxford branch of the family, and two earlier Bishops of London, Richard de Beaumis the elder and Richard de Beaumis the younger,Brooke "Foliot, Gilbert" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Gilbert also referred to Richard of Ilchester, later Bishop of Winchester, as a kinsman, but the exact relationship is unknown.Knowles Episcopal Colleagues p. 38 William de Chesney, a partisan of Stephen's and a leading Oxfordshire layman,Crouch Reign of King Stephen pp. 222–223 was another of Foliot's uncles,King "Anarchy" Transactions of the Royal Historical Society p. 153 and Miles of Gloucester, Earl of Hereford, was a cousin.Crouch Reign of King Stephen p. 302 In about 1145 Foliot intervened to secure the release of a knight to whom he was related, Roger Foliot, but their precise relationship is unknown.Stacy "Henry of Blois" English Historical Review p. 24
Born about 1110,Knowles Monastic Order pp. 293–297 Foliot became a monk of Cluny,Knowles, et al. Heads of Religious Houses p. 53 probably in about 1130. He became Prior of Cluny Abbey, then Prior of Abbeville, a Cluniac house.Barrow "Bishops" Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 8: Hereford There are some indications that he studied law at Bologna,Turner "Roman Law" Journal of British Studies p. 9 and he may have studied under Robert Pullen, the English theologian, either at Oxford or Exeter.Barlow English Church p. 247 and footnote 169 He also acquired a knowledge of rhetoric as well as the liberal arts. The names of two of his early teachers are known, but nothing else of them. Foliot also learned biblical exegesis, probably from Pullen.Taliadoros "Law & Theology" Haskins Society Journal 16 p. 79
Foliot attended the Second Lateran Council, called by Pope Innocent II. It opened on 4 April 1139, and among other matters, heard an appeal from the Empress Matilda concerning her claim to the throne of England. Matilda was the daughter and only surviving legitimate child of King Henry I, but following her father's death in late 1135 her cousin Stephen, the son of Henry's sister, had seized the crown. By 1139, Matilda had gathered supporters and was contesting Stephen's right to the throne.Huscroft Ruling England pp. 71–73
In about 1143, Foliot wrote an account of the proceedings of the council in a letter to one of Matilda's supporters. No action was taken on her claim, and no conclusion was reached as to its validity. The papacy continued to accept Stephen as king, and the pope ordered the English Church to make no changes to the status quo.Chibnall Empress Matilda pp. 75–76 According to Foliot's letter, the council's deliberations centred on the legitimacy of the marriage between Matilda's parents. Matilda's mother, Edith-Matilda, had been educated at a convent, and there was some uncertainty over whether she had taken vows before her marriage to Henry I. At the time of the council, the question caused some concern, although in time most were persuaded that the marriage was valid because Anselm of Canterbury had performed the ceremony. Foliot seems to have had some doubts in 1139, but before writing his letter of 1143, he had come to believe that Matilda was indeed the legitimate heiress, and he supported the Angevin cause, as Matilda's claim was known.Matthew King Stephen pp. 88–89
Abbot
In 1139 Foliot was elected Abbot of Gloucester, blessed by the diocesan bishop on 11 June 1139. The appointment had been pushed through by Foliot's relative, Miles of Gloucester, who was by then the Earl of Hereford.Knowles Monastic Order pp. 284–286 Foliot was well connected at court in other respects, for his probable father had been steward to David I, before David became King of Scotland. David was the uncle of both the Empress and Stephen's wife. Following his elevation to abbot, Foliot recognised Stephen as king, although he seems until then to have supported Matilda.
King Stephen was captured by Matilda's forces on 2 February 1141,Chibnall Empress Matilda p. 95 and Matilda called a council at Westminster to gather support for her assuming the throne. Foliot attended the council and was one of her main supporters in the following months as the Angevin cause tried to place her on the throne.Chibnall Empress Matilda pp. 97–99
It was during his time as abbot that Foliot wrote his reply to Brien FitzCount, one of Matilda's earliest supporters, discussing the Second Council of the Lateran's deliberations on Matilda's cause. FitzCount, in a letter now lost, had presented his reasons for supporting Matilda, and Foliot's reply set forth a defence of Matilda's claim to the throne.Chibnall Empress Matilda pp. 84–87 Foliot also wrote that Stephen had "dishonoured the episcopate" with his behaviour in 1139,Quoted in Crouch Reign of King Stephen p. 101 when the king arrested Roger of Salisbury, the Bishop of Salisbury, and Roger's nephew, Alexander, who was Bishop of Lincoln, as well as attempting to arrest another of Roger's nephews, Nigel, Bishop of Ely. After the arrest, Stephen forced the bishops to surrender their castles and secular government offices.Crouch Reign of King Stephen pp. 93–101 Most historians see Foliot's letter as firmly supporting Matilda's cause, although one of King Stephen's recent biographers, Donald Matthew, claims that Foliot's support was lukewarm at best, motivated by the location of his abbey in one of Matilda's strongholds. Matthew points out that Gloucester Abbey owed no military service in a feudal levy, which allowed Foliot to avoid choosing sides irrevocably. Matthew also points out that after 1141 Foliot is a signatory to just one of Matilda's charters.Matthew King Stephen p. 122 Foliot did, though, address Robert of Gloucester's defence of Matilda's rights, buttressing it with arguments of his own. Robert had argued that the Bible supported female succession, and quoted from Numbers, chapter 36, which allowed women to inherit, but prohibited them marrying outside their tribe. In his reply, Foliot claimed that Robert had actually used Numbers, chapter 27, which had no restrictions on the marriage of heiresses.Crouch Reign of King Stephen p. 124
During his time as abbot Foliot became friendly with Aelred of Rievaulx, a writer and later saint,Knowles Monastic Order p. 263 who dedicated a book of sermons to him. Another friend and ally from his abbacy was Theobald of Bec, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who during Stephen's reign was attempting to unite the English Church under his leadership. Foliot helped Theobald by forming a communication link to Matilda's side.
Foliot took an interest in the Dorset monastery of Cerne Abbey, which in 1145 received the Prior of Gloucester Abbey, Bernard, as abbot.Knowles, et al. Heads of Religious Houses p. 37 Bernard was an active reformer, and Foliot supported Bernard's efforts, but the monks objected to the new abbot and drove him out of the monastery.Matthew King Stephen p. 121 Both abbot and monks appealed to the papacy, which supported the abbot. Although Matilda wrote to Foliot and interceded on behalf of the monks, Foliot pointed out that he was unable to disobey a papal command.Chibnall Empress Matilda pp. 140–141
While abbot Foliot supervised the acquisition of a dependent priory in the city of Hereford for the monastery. Most of the abbey buildings predate Foliot's time as abbot, and there is no sure evidence of any buildings he added to the monastery. During his abbacy, a dispute that had dragged on between Gloucester and the Archdiocese of York over some manors was finally settled in Gloucester's favour. This was done with a group of forged charters that Foliot may have helped to create. Forging charters was a common practice in English monasteries of the time. Foliot also had disputes with the Welsh bishop Uhtred, Bishop of Llandaff, over Goldcliff Priory and a church in Llancarfan,Davies Book of Llandaf p. 55 concerning tithes and new chapels that had been built without Gloucester Abbey's permission.Davies Book of Llandaf p. 107
Bishop of Hereford