Biographical Notes

Albinus, abbot of Darley, occ. 1151x1176 [IV.11]. Albinus was the first abbot of Darley (or Derby), an Augustinian house founded c.1146 just north of Darby (see HRH, p. 161). The abbot of Darley is mentioned in a letter sent to Thomas Becket before mid-1166 by Nicholas of Mount-Saint-Jacques, prior of the hospital of Mont-aux-Malades in Rouen (CTB, vol. 1, no. 94, pp. 386–7, on this hospital, see Elma Brenner, ‘Thomas Becket and Leprosy in Normandy’, in Paul Webster and Marie-Pierre Gelin (eds.), The Cult of Thomas Becket in the Plantagenet World, c.1170–c.1220 (Woodbridge, 2016), pp. 81–94). Nicholas tells Becket that they know little of the gossip of the court, but that they will know more when the abbot of Darley arrives. This suggests that Albinus was long a friend of the Becket party. Canons from Darley staffed the Augustinian priory of St. Thomas the Martyr near Stafford founded c.1174. Albinus is named in its foundation charter: see F. Parker, ed., “‘Chartulary’ of the Priory of St. Thomas (A’Becket) Near Stafford,” in Collections for a History of Staffordshire, The William Salt Archaeological Society (London, 1887), vol. 8, pp. 130–2. See also Nicholas son of Aileva.

Anfrid of Ferring, knight [IV.16]. “Anfridus de Fering” is listed in the carta of Hilary, bishop of Chichester, under the returns for Sussex: see CB no. XII (7), p. 16. “Anfridus (de) Feringes” is also a witness on a charter dated 1164 relating to the abbey of Fécamp in Normandy: see Calendar of Documents preserved in France Illustrative of the History of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. I, A.D. 918–1206, ed. by J. Horace Round (London, 1899), p. 48. At the time of the Domesday survey, the manor of Ferring was held by a man named Ansfrid: see DP, p. 155. Unfortunately, we do not have any documentation that provides the name of Anfrid’s wife.

Aziria of Earley [II.53–4]. Benedict does not name Aziria, the wife of William de Earley, but her name is known from a charter relating to Buckland Priory: see A Cartulary of Buckland Priory in the County of Somerset, ed. F. W. Weaver (Somerset Record Society vol. 25, 1909), no. 34; see also E. H. Bates Harbin, “Charter of Clemencia de Erleigh,” in Notes and Queries for Somerset and Dorset, ed. by Frederic William Weaver and Charles Herbert Mayo (Sherborne, 1915), vol. 14, p. 70. The couple’s eldest son and heir was named John: see “Parishes: Sonning with Earley, Woodley and Sandford,” in A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 3, ed. P. H. Ditchfield and William Page (London, 1923), pp. 210–25.

Bartholomew, bishop of Exeter (d.1184) [I.1]. A scholar and one of the leading lights of the English Church, Bartholomew, bishop of Exeter from 1161 to 1184, walked a fine line during the Becket dispute. He was suspended from office for his participation in the coronation of Young King Henry in 1170, but was reinstated soon after Becket’s murder. The monks of Christ Church invited Bartholomew, along with the bishop of Chester, to perform the reconsecration ceremony for Canterbury Cathedral on December 21, 1171, a strong sign of their good favour (this may have been the occasion when Bartholomew told the Christ Church monks of his vision). John of Salisbury spent some time at Exeter after the murder. Bartholomew’s importance in the aftermath of the dispute is also shown by the letter Henry II addressed to him regarding his reconciliation with the papal legates in Normandy on May 1172: see LCHII, vol. 6, Appendix 1 no. 3015, pp. 54–5. On Bartholomew, see Frank Barlow, ‘Bartholomew’, ODNB; A. Morey, Bartholomew of Exeter, Bishop and Canonist (Cambridge, 1937), esp. pp. 15–43 and Rebecca Springer, “Bartholomew of Exeter’s Sermons and the Cultivation of Charity in Twelfth-Century Exeter”, Historical Research 92 (May 2019): 267–87.

Bertha of Hereford [I.6]. The “Bertha of Gloucester” of Benedict’s story may be Bertha of Hereford, the daughter of the powerful magnate Miles of Gloucester (d.1143), the first earl of Hereford. Bertha married William de Briouze/Braose (d.1192), who served as sheriff of Herefordshire from 1173–5. See Brock Holden, Lords of the Central Marches: English Aristocracy and Frontier Society, 1087–1265 (Oxford, 2008), pp. 22–3 and 254. Another possibility is that this Bertha is the same woman Benedict names as Bertha, the widow of Elias Giffard, in III.71.

Bertha, widow of Elias Giffard [III.71]. Bertha, the daughter of Richard FitzPons, married Elias Giffard, the lord of Brinsfield in Gloucestershire, at an unknown date. Elias died in 1159 having become a monk of Gloucester. Bertha’s death date is unknown, but her will, in which she granted property to the monks of Gloucester, is extant: see Historia et cartularium monasterii Gloucestraie, ed. William Henry Hart, RS 33 (London, 1863), vol. 1, p. 188. For a family tree that includes Bertha, see Scott L. Waugh, The Lordship of England: Royal Wardships and Marriages in English Society and Politics, 1217–1327 (Princeton, 1988), p. 43.

Brian de Insula, provost [II.38]. Brian de Insula, of the Isle of Wight, was the son of Jordan de Insula and the father of Robert de Insula: see John L. Whitehead, “Genealogical and Other Notes Relating to the de Insula, otherwise de l’Isle, de Lisle, or Lisle Family,” Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club & Archaeological Society (6:1) 1907, 111–39, at pp. 117–21. The family owed their rise to their relationship to Richard de Redvers, a baron of Henry I (see also IV.53 and William de Vernon below). Brian de Insula witnessed four charters of Richard’s son, Baldwin de Redvers (d.1155): see Robert Bearman, “Baldwin de Redvers: Some Aspects of a Baronial Career in the Reign of King Stephen,” ANS 28 (1995): 19–46, at p. 26 and Robert Bearman, ed., Charters of the Redvers Family and the Earldom of Devon, 1090–1217, Devon and Cornwall Record Society 37 (Exeter, 1994), p. 38.

Edmund, master and archdeacon of Coventry (d.1179) [IV.4]. Edmund first appears as a witness to a charter dated 1146x47. He became archdeacon of Coventry c.1160, a post from which he retired c.1176, apparently in hopes of his nephew receiving the archdeaconry: see EEA: Coventry and Lichfield, 1160–1182, ed. by M. J. Franklin (Oxford, 1998), pp. 27–8. There is a charter witnessed by Edmund that includes a witness named “Sasfredo,” quite possibly Saffrid, the dean of Chesterton, who wrote the letter Benedict copied into his collection: see ibid, p. 74. Edmund founded the hospital of St. John the Baptist in Coventry between 1160 and 1176: see Sethina Watson, “City as Charter: Charity and the Lordship of English Towns, 1170–1250,” in Caroline Goodson, Anne Elisabeth Lester, and Carol Symes (eds.), Cities, Texts and Social Networks, 400–1500: Experiences and Perceptions of Medieval Urban Space (Ashgate, 2010), 235–62, p. 250 n. 52.

Eleanor of Aquitaine (d.1204) [IV.75 and William no. 11]. One of the most famous queens of the Middle Ages, Eleanor of Aquitaine married King of France Louis VII in 1137. After this marriage was annulled in 1152, she married Henry, soon to be King of England Henry II. Eleanor supported her son the Young King Henry in a major rebellion against Henry II in 1173, after which she was imprisoned until Henry died in 1189. During the reigns of her sons Richard I and John, Eleanor played a major role in the governance of the Angevin realms. For a convenient brief account of Eleanor’s life, see Jane Martindale, “Eleanor [Eleanor of Aquitaine], suo jure duchess of Aquitaine,” ODNB.

Elias of Froyle, knight and reeve [IV.12]. Elias is found under Hampshire in the Pipe Rolls for 1167–8: PR 14 Henry II, p. 175. For the Froille family and other documentary references to Elias, see The Herald and Genealogist, ed. by John Gough Nicholas, F.S.A. (London, 1870), vol. 5, p. 432.

Geoffrey of Wallingford, monk of Reading [IV.86 and William no. 12]. The letter copied in full by William notes that Geoffrey was from Wallingford and was a cantor. He is very likely the “G. cantor” noted in a late twelfth-century booklist from Reading: English Benedictine Libraries: The Shorter Catalogues, ed. Richard Sharpe, Corpus of British Medieval Library Catalogues 4 (London, 1996), B71 no. 14, p. 422.

Gilbert Foliot, bishop of London (d.1187) [III.45]. A Cluniac monk who became abbot of Gloucester (1139–48), bishop of Hereford (1148–63), and finally bishop of London (1163–87), Foliot was a learned man known for his sermons and biblical commentaries. A lengthy surviving collection of his letters and charters shows him to have been an active and conscientious diocesan administrator. Gilbert was Becket’s most vocal and powerful opponent within the English church. Becket twice excommunicated him, the second time for his participation in the coronation of the Young King Henry in 1170. He was not reinstated as bishop of London until May 1172. See LCGF and C. N. L. Brooke, “Foliot, Gilbert (c.1110–87), Benedictine monk and bishop of London,” ODNB.

Gilbert Foliot, steward of Gilbert Foliot, bishop of London [III.45]. Two kinsmen of Bishop Gilbert Foliot who were also named Gilbert Foliot are known from contemporary records. One was a canon of St. Paul’s and later the archdeacon of Middlesex. The other, who seems more likely to be the steward referred to in Benedict’s story, was the bishop’s nephew and held land in Normandy. On Gilbert’s family, see Dom Adrian Morey and C. N. L. Brooke, Gilbert Foliot and His Letters (Cambridge, 1965), pp. 32–49, esp. p. 41 n. 2 and p. 43.

Godefrid, baker of Christ Church, Canterbury [II.2–3]. Godefrid is recorded as holding two acres of land just outside of Canterbury’s Worthgate (see Urry, CUAK, Rental A no. 19, p. 223). He took part in a major dispute between the archbishop and the Christ Church monks in the late 1180s, when Godefrid, along with a number of other servants, took the archbishop’s side. Prior Honorius (1186–9) viewed Godefrid as the traitorous servants’ ringleader and described him as a “man of Belial”: see Urry, CUAK, pp. 162–3 and EC, no. 219, pp. 201–2.

Godfrey, bishop of St. Asaph and titular abbot of Abingdon [IV.75 and William no. 11]. Godfrey, a monk of Coventry, was appointed bishop of St. Asaph in 1160. In 1165, he fled from Wales due to the victories of Owen Gwynnedd. He settled at Abingdon, where he was the titular abbot between 1165 and 1175. In the late 1160s, Thomas Becket sent Godfrey a stern letter rebuking him for acting as a bishop outside of his see, and in 1170, he ordered him to resign or return to his see (CTB, vol. 1, no. 155, pp. 724–7 and vol. 2, no. 226, pp. 978–9). Godfrey participated in the coronation of the Young King Henry. In September 1170, the pope gave Becket permission to penalize Godfrey, along with David the archdeacon of St. Asaph, for their actions: see CTB, vol. 2, no. 307, at pp. 1294–5. Godfrey was forced to resign the bishopric at the Council of Westminster in 1175 and lost the abbacy of Abingdon in that same year. His death date is unknown. On Godfrey, see Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: IX The Welsh Cathedrals, ed. by M. J. Pearson (London, 2003), p. 33.

Godfrey, son of Adam of Lillingston, knight [III.30]. Godfrey of “Lullingestan,” very likely the same Godfrey discussed by Benedict, is found in the Oxfordshire section of the 1174–5 Pipe Roll (PR 21 Henry II, p. 13). Lillingstone Lovell was part of Oxfordshire in the medieval period.

Hamelin de Warenne, earl of Surrey (d.1202) [IV.64 and William no. 7]. The illegitimate son of Geoffrey of Anjou, Hamelin was the half-brother of King Henry II. When Hamelin married the heiress Isabelle de Warenne in 1164, he became one most powerful magnates in England. Hamelin denounced Becket at the Council of Northampton in 1164. After Becket’s death, Hamelin would claim that his eye had been healed by the saint: his story is found in William of Canterbury, Miracula, VI.45, p. 452. Given the placement of this story towards the end of William’s collection, Hamelin’s miracle must have occurred after that of the family of Jordan son of Eisulf. In the late 1180s, the Christ Church monks would write to Hamelin requesting help in their dispute with archbishop Baldwin: see EC, pp. 85, 264–5, 268, and Barnaby, Religious Conflict at Canterbury Cathedral, p. 115. On Hamelin, see Thomas K. Keefe, “Warenne, Hamelin de, earl of Surrey,” ODNB.

Henry of Houghton, master and clerk of Thomas Becket [III.63–4]. This is likely the Master Henry who was formerly of the royal chapel: see CTB, vol. 2, Appendix I, pp. 1374–5, and Barlow, Thomas Becket, pp. 131–2. In 1163, Becket sent Master Henry as his envoy to the papal curia, referring to him as “a loyal servant to both you and us”: see CTB, vol. 1, nos. 12–16, pp. 30–41. Master Henry was said to be frustrated by Becket’s stubbornness at Montmirail in 1169: see FitzStephen, Vita, pp. 96–7.

Henry de Longavilla, knight [III.36–7]. A knight named “Henricus de Longavill,” is found in the 1166 carta of Nigel de Louvetot, a baron of Huntingdonshire (CB no. CXCVI (11) p. 207). For this Henry and the manor of Orton Longueville (located less than three miles from Peterborough), see “Parishes: Orton Longueville with Botolphbridge,” in A History of the County of Huntingdon: Volume 3, ed. William Page, Granville Proby and S. Inskip Ladds (London, 1936), pp. 190–8. See also IV.3 for the miracle concerning the leprous Ralph of Longueville, possibly a member of the same family.

Hugh de Beauchamp, baron of Eaton Soton, Bedfordshire [II.61]. Hugh’s parentage is obscure and not all of the details of his life are clear. He may have been a natural son of Simon de Beauchamp (d. c.1137). By the mid-1150s, he was in possession of the barony of Eaton Soton. Though there is no return for this barony in the Cartae Baronum, Hugh is found a number of its entries (see CB no. CXLV (20), p. 150; no. CXCV (2) p. 205; and no. CXCVII (1) p. 209) as well as in the Pipe Rolls: see the entries in DD, p. 311. A later Hugh de Beauchamp founded the Augustinian priory at Bushmead c.1195: for the foundation charter, which lists a Nicholas de Beauchamp (the son of the story?) as a witness, see The Cartulary of Bushmead Priory, ed. G. Herbert Fowler and Joyce Godber (Streatley, 1945), no. 17, pp. 28–30. On the Eaton branch of the Beauchamp family, see G. Herbert Fowler, “The Beauchamps, Barons of Eaton,” in Proceedings of the Bedfordshire Historical Record Society 2 (1914): 61–91, esp. pp. 68–71. A Hugh de Beauchamp went on the Third Crusade and died at the Battle of Hattin in 1187, as is known both from Roger of Howden’s Gesta Regis and a grant from Hugh’s wife Phillipa to the Benedictine priory of St. Neot’s: see BL Cotton MS. Faustina A iv, fol. 83, and “Parishes: Eaton Socon,” in A History of the County of Bedford: Volume 3, ed. William Page (London, 1912), pp. 189–202.

Hugh de Bodebi, knight [IV.82]. In the Lincolnshire section of the Cartae Baronum, the carta of Maurice de Craon lists “Hugo de Boebi,” very likely the same knight in Benedict’s story. See CB no. CCVI (8), p. 220. Boebi/Bodebi may refer to Boothby Pagnell in Lincolnshire.

Hugh de Morville (d. c.1173/74) [Passion, William no. 6]. The most socially elevated of Thomas Becket’s four murderers, Morville knew Becket when he was Henry II’s chancellor. The murderers went to Morville’s castle at Knaresborough after Becket’s death. Later, c.1173, Morville went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem in penance for Becket’s murder. He died on pilgrimage and never returned to England. On Morville, see Vincent, Murderers, esp. pp. 223–9 and 262–3, and R. M. Franklin, “Morville, Hugh de,” ODNB.

Hugh de Puiset, bishop of Durham (d.1195) [IV.2]. The nephew of King Stephen, Hugh de Puiset became bishop of Durham shortly before Stephen’s death and the accession of Henry II in 1154. He was a powerful secular magnate as well as bishop: see his return in CB no. CCXXXIV, pp. 250–2. Hugh kept the Becket dispute largely at arm’s length, but in 1170 he was one of the bishops present at the coronation of the Young King Henry. He was suspended from office, a suspension lifted around Easter 1171. In late 1174 or early 1175, about three years after his encounter with the blinded and castrated Eilward of Westoning, Hugh sent a letter to the Christ Church monks describing the miracle of a blinded and castrated thief in Durham: see William of Canterbury, Miracula, V.10, pp. 419–22. On Hugh, see G. W. S. Barrow, “Puiset, Hugh du, earl of Northumberland,” ODNB, and for a full-length study, G. V. Scammell, Hugh du Puiset: Bishop of Durham (Cambridge, 1956).

Jocelin de Bohun, bishop of Salisbury (d.1184) [IV.75]. Bishop of Salisbury from 1142 to his death in 1184, Jocelin de Bohun initially sided with Becket. After Becket suspended him from office in 1166, Jocelin became closely allied with Becket’s vociferous opponent, Gilbert Foliot, bishop of London. Jocelin, along with Gilbert and Roger de Pont L’Évêque, Archbishop of York, were excommunicated in late 1170 due to their participation in the coronation of the Young King Henry in June 1170. The news of these excommunications enraged Henry II, starting the train of events that led to Becket’s death. Jocelin was reinstated in March 1172. See B. R. Kemp, “Bohun, Jocelin de,” in ODNB.

John son of Vivian, borough reeve (d. by 1189) [III.29]. An important figure in Canterbury, John son of Vivian is known from entries in the Pipe Rolls, rentals, and a grant of wardship. His father, Vivian of Wigt, went to Jerusalem, possibly as part of the Second Crusade. John’s son seems to have predeceased him, but he had three daughters who often appear in contemporary rentals and charters. On John, see Urry, CUAK, pp. 64 and 84–5.

John of Kinstan, abbot of Jervaulx (d. after 1190) [III.60–2]. John of Kinstan, a monk at Byland Abbey, was led to the foundation of Jervaulx (of which he would be the first abbot) by means of a vision of the Virgin Mary and Christ: see The Foundation History of the Abbeys of Byland and Jervaulx, ed. and trans. Janet Burton, Borthwick Texts and Studies 35 (York, 2006), pp. 25, 48–60. John was abbot of Jervaulx from 1149/50 to c.1185: see HRH, p. 135. Abbot John is pictured in three panels of Canterbury Cathedral window nIII: see Caviness, Windows, pp. 191–2.

John of Salisbury, scholar, bishop of Chartres (d.1180) [Passion]. One of the most learned men of his day, John of Salisbury wrote works concerning rhetoric, education, political science, and philosophy, and is also known for an extensive and important collection of letters. For an overview of his life and work, see David Luscombe, “Salisbury, John of,” ODNB. John was a fervent supporter of Thomas Becket and spent much of the period of Becket’s exile in France at the abbey of St. Rémi at Reims, headed by Peter of Celle. On his relationship with Becket, see Bollerman and Nederman, “John of Salisbury and Thomas Becket,” and on his relationship with Canterbury, Michael Staunton, “John of Salisbury and the Church of Canterbury,” in Christophe Grellard and Frédérique Lachaud (eds.), Jean de Salisbury, nouvelles lectures, nouveaux enjeux (Florence, 2018), pp. 185–207. John wrote a short and widely circulated Life of Becket: for an English translation, see Pepin, ed. and trans., Anselm and Becket, pp. 73–95. He was bishop of Chartres from 1176 to his death in 1180. For a Becket miracle at Chartres, see John’s account in a letter he sent to Canterbury sometime between 1177 and 1179: LJS no. 325, pp. 804–5.

Jordan son of Eisulf, knight (d. c.1195) [IV.64 and William no. 7]. Jordan first appears in the documentary record c.1155; his last appearance is in 1194–5, after which he was succeeded by his son Richard. Jordan’s father, Eisulf (also spelled Assulf, Assolf, Asolf, Essolf, Edulf, Esolf, and Aissulf in contemporary documents) was a major landowner in the West Riding of Yorkshire. While Jordan was not the eldest of Eisulf’s sons, he was nevertheless a major actor in the region and started a family line later known as the Thornhills. Jordan was the constable of Wakefield for Hamelin de Warenne, earl of Surrey. He is named as such in a charter issued by Hamelin to the benefit of the priory of St. Mary Magdalen in Lincolnshire, a cell of St. Mary’s Abbey, York: see Monasticon, vol. 3, p. 618b, num. V. A steward named William Brito witnessed a grant made by the earl of Albemarle to the priory of Pontefract c.1190–5. This could well be the boy of the miracle story: see C. T. Clay, “The Family of Thornhill,” Yorkshire Archaeological Journal 29 (1929): 286–321, esp. 287–91. See also William Paley Baildon, Baildon and the Baildons: A history of a Yorkshire manor and family (privately printed London, 1912), vol. 2, pp. 26–33; and Hugh M. Thomas, Vassals, Heiresses, Crusaders, and Thugs: The Gentry of Angevin Yorkshire, 1154–1216 (Philadelphia, 2003), pp. 106–11, 202–3. Jordan, his wife, and his sons are pictured in Canterbury Cathedral Trinity Chapel window nII: see Caviness, Windows, pp. 197–9.

Matilda de Percy, the countess of Warwick (d.1204) [IV.94]. The wife of the earl of Warwick (William de Beaumount (d.1184)), Matilda de Percy was closely related to the de Clare family. Her mother, Adelisa de Clare (d. by 1166, m. William II de Percy), was Roger de Clare’s sister, making Roger her uncle and his little son James her first cousin. Matilda de Percy was a generous benefactor of religious houses in Yorkshire and was buried at Fountains. See Susan M. Johns, “Percy, Matilda de, countess of Warwick,” ODNB.

Matilda de St. Hilary, countess of Hertford and countess of Arundel (d.1193) [IV.94 and William no. 14]. The daughter and heir of James of St. Hilary, a baron of Norfolk, Matilda’s first marriage was to Roger de Clare (d.1173). The honour Matilda brought to the marriage with Roger is listed separately in the Cartae Baronum returns: see CB no. CCXIII (68–85), p. 241. The couple had two daughters (Aveline and Mabel) and four sons. Richard de Clare (d.1217) was Roger’s heir; the couple’s other three known sons, John, another Richard, and James, all seem to have died unmarried. James is named as a witness in a charter issued by his mother granting a mill to St. Andrew’s priory, Northampton, dated 1173–6: see F. M. Stenton, ed., Facsimiles of Early Charters from Northamptonshire Collections (London, 1930), pp. 130–1. Matilda’s chaplain Lambert, named in Benedict’s account of the miracle, is the first witness of this charter. A surviving impression of Matilda’s seal shows Matilda being handed a hawk by an attendant: see Susan M. Johns, Noblewomen, Aristocracy and Power in the Twelfth-Century Anglo-Norman Realm (Manchester, 2003), 209–11. For an English translation of the grant made by Matilda de St. Hilary to the alien Benedictine priory of Stoke-on-Clare when she was married to Roger, see Jennifer C. Ward, Women of the English Nobility and Gentry, 1066–1500 (Manchester, 1995), no. 73, pp. 93–4. Matilda’s second marriage was to William IV de Aubigny, earl of Arundel and Sussex (d.1184), whom she married sometime before Michaelmas 1176. The couple had two sons, including William’s heir, William (d. before 1221), and a daughter. Matilda’s honour passed to William de Aubigny during his lifetime but became hers again after his death. It was escheated to the Crown after her death in 1193 and was acquired by her son Richard de Clare. Matilda, her son James, and one of James’ older brothers are pictured in Canterbury Cathedral Trinity Chapel window sVII.

Nicholas son of Aileva [IV.11]. Nicholas son of Aileva (spelled Ailwena), is listed as a witness to the foundation charter to the Augustinian priory of St. Thomas the Martyr, which was located two miles east of Stafford. A “Henry, priest” and “William Speri Osberto, priest,” also appear in the witness list, and may well be the same priests who were called as witnesses to the miracle described in the letter of Albinus, abbot of Darley. For the foundation charter, see Parker, “‘Chartulary’ of the Priory of St. Thomas (A’Becket),” pp. 130–2.

Odo, prior of Christ Church, Canterbury (d.1200) [IV.11, IV.65, IV.84, IV.85, William no. 12]. A learned and respected monk of Christ Church, Odo was elected prior in 1168 against Becket’s wishes. Becket wanted him deposed, but Odo remained in his position and had the firm support of his monks. They would eventually propose him as a candidate to replace Becket as archbishop, a petition that failed. Odo was elected abbot of Battle in 1175. Though he did not want the position, he was eventually convinced to leave Canterbury for Battle. Benedict (author of the Passion and Miracles) was elected by the monks to take his place. See R. M. Thomson, “Odo of Canterbury, theologian and abbot of Battle (d.1200),” ODNB.

Peter of Celle, abbot of St. Rémi and bishop of Chartres (d.1183) [IV.87]. A Benedictine monk who became abbot of Montier-la-Celle near Troyes (c.1145–61), abbot of St. Rémi at Reims (1161–81) and bishop of Chartres (1181–3), Peter of Celle was a close friend of John of Salisbury and an ardent supporter of Thomas Becket. He cultivated friendships with many of the leading figures of his day, including popes, bishops, and monks of differing orders. He was a prolific author, composing many sermons, treatises, and letters: see the introduction to The Letters of Peter of Celle.

Peter de Arches, knight [IV.67]. Probably the son of Peter de Arches (or de Arcis), Peter de Arches is stated to be “of Kettlewell” (in Yorkshire) and appears in a number of twelfth-century charters: see EYC vol. 11, p. 152 and nos. 133 and 136, and also DD, p. 288.

Peter de Melida, master and clerk of Lincoln (d. before 1181) [II.55]. A legal expert and donor of manuscripts to Lincoln Cathedral, Master Peter de Melida first appears in documents in the 1150s: see Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae, 1066–1300: III. Lincoln, compiled by Diana Greenway (London, 1977), pp. 133–4. He may have been from Meleti near Milan (see ibid, p. 133 n. 4). For surviving manuscripts donated by Peter de Melida, see R. M. Thomson, Catalogue of the Manuscripts of Lincoln Cathedral Library (Cambridge, 1989), pp. xv, 57, 138, 142, and 150.

Ranulf de Broc, king’s official (d. c.1179) [Passion, I.14, I.18]. Henry II put Ranulf de Broc in charge of Canterbury’s estates after Becket went into exile in 1164. He and his kinsman Robert de Broc were despised by the Becket party. Becket excommunicated Ranulf more than once and termed him “the most criminal son of perdition” in the last letter he wrote to the pope: see CTB, vol. 2, no. 326, at pp. 1346–7. Ranulf sent Becket’s relatives into exile, plundered his estates, seized his wine, and hosted the four knights in Saltwood Castle the night before and the night after the murder. For the wine incident, see William of Canterbury, Vita, p. 117, and for an excellent study of the de Brocs, see H. F. Doherty, “The Murder of Gilbert the Forester,” Haskins Society Journal 23 (2011): 155–204, at pp. 187–96.

Reginald fitz Urse (d.1173x75) [Passion]. Though Reginald fitz Urse was not the highest in rank of the four knights who murdered Thomas Becket, he served as their spokesman and leader. He had no sons and was certainly dead by 1175 when his daughter Maud petitioned for his barony of Bulwick in Northamptonshire. It seems likely that he died in the Holy Land on a pilgrimage to expiate the crime of the murder. See Vincent, “Murderers,” and R. M. Franklin, “Fitzurse, Reginald (d. 1173x5),” ODNB.

Richard, abbot of Sulby [III.42–3]. Richard appears to have been the first abbot of Sulby in Welford, a Premonstratensian monastery in Northamptonshire: see HRH, p. 197. Early in William of Canterbury’s miracle collection (Miracula, I.10, pp. 148–50), there is a letter written by this same Richard concerning a vision of one of the Sulby brothers, and later on, William describes two more miracles that Richard told to the monks (Miracula, III.34–5, pp. 291–2). Richard is listed as a witness to two charters edited by F. M. Stenton, Documents Illustrative of the Social and Economic History of the Danelaw, from Various Collections (London, 1920), no. 253, p. 189 and no. 277, pp. 209–10. In the second of these charters, dated by Stenton to late in Henry II’s reign, William, abbot of Croxton Kerrial, is also listed as a witness.

Richard, master and monk of Ely [IV.89]. The Master Richard who spoke to Benedict is probably the same man who is commended by the author of the Liber Eliensis as “our brother Richard, a most studious man of letters and someone of the greatest eloquence”: see Liber Eliensis: A History of the Isle of Ely, trans. Janet Fairweather (Woodbridge, 2005), III.44, p. 346. A Richard, perhaps this same Richard, was the subprior at Ely and became the prior c.1177: see BR, p. 434 and HRH, p. 46.

Richard de Lucy, royal justiciar (d.1179) [III.64]. One of the most powerful men in England, Richard de Lucy oversaw the kingdom when Henry was overseas and commanded the king’s forces during the rebellion of 1173–4. Closely involved in the Becket dispute, de Lucy argued bitterly with Becket and was twice excommunicated by him. Richard de Lucy’s possession of a knight’s fee in Newington and Sheppey is recorded in the Pipe Rolls and in the Cartae Baronum (CB no. CLXXIII, pp. 183–4). For a story of Henry II’s grant of 5/7s of the manor of Newington to Richard de Lucy, see William Thorne’s Chronicle, p. 275. De Lucy gave away his holdings in Newington to the Augustinian abbey of Lesnes in Kent, which he founded in 1178 and dedicated to the Virgin and Thomas the Martyr. He was buried at Lesnes in 1179. See Emilie Amt, “Lucy, Richard de (d.1179),” ODNB.

Robert, sacrist of Christ Church, Canterbury [II.38, III.25 and IV.84]. As sacrist, Robert was the caretaker of the vestments and sacred vessels of Christ Church. He was clearly a leading figure in the monastery. John of Salisbury addressed two letters to him in early 1170 in which he urged him to support Thomas Becket (see LJS no. 299, p. 699, and no. 303, pp. 713–15), and Robert is also mentioned in Gervase’s account of Becket’s return from exile in 1170 (Gervase vol. 1, pp. 221–2). He was involved in the dispute between the Christ Church monks and Archbishop Baldwin in the late 1180s, at which point he appears to have been an elderly man. See the entry for Robert II in BR, pp. 265–6.

Robert de Broc, king’s official (d.1194) [Passion, I.18, III.17]. Robert de Broc, a younger kinsman of Ranulf de Broc, was one of the despised Brokeis family who had control of the estates of the archbishopric when Becket was in exile. Like Ranulf, he was excommunicated more than once by Becket, including an excommunication on Christmas Day 1170, just four days before Becket’s murder (see William of Canterbury, Vita, p. 120 and FitzStephen, Vita, p. 130). He was known for cutting off the tail of one of Becket’s horses in December 1170, a grave insult: see Andrew M. Miller, “‘Tails’ of Masculinity: Knights, Clerics, and the Mutilation of Horses in Medieval England,” Speculum 88:4 (2013): 958–95 and Hugh M. Thomas, “Shame, Masculinity, and the Death of Thomas Becket,” Speculum 87:4 (October 2012): 1050–88. On the de Broc family, with special attention to Robert de Broc and a mention of the miracle recounted in III.17, see Doherty, “The Murder of Gilbert the Forester,” pp. 187–96.

Robert de Broi, prior of Lenton [IV.11]. Lenton Priory, founded in the early twelfth century, was a Cluniac monastery in Nottingham. Robert de Broi became Lenton’s prior c.1163 on the recommendation of Gilbert Foliot, bishop of London. By or before 1176, Robert had been replaced as prior by a certain Philip. See HRH, p. 119, and LCGF no. 147, pp. 192–3.

Robert de Sancto Andrea [I.8]. Likely a descendant of Morin de Sancta Andrea, who had holdings in Sussex (see J. H. Round, “The Early History of North and South Stoke,” Sussex Archaeological Collections 59 (1918): 1–24, at p. 20), Robert de Sancto Andrea is listed as holding land in Catherington, near the Sussex border, in the 1170s: see PR 23 Henry II, p. 169.

Robert, son of Gilbert (d.1166) [III.58–9]. Robert son of Gilbert, sometimes further identified as “of Tathwell” or “of Legbourne,” founded the priory of Legbourne, later identified as a Cistercian nunnery, c.1150. His co-founders were his wife Matilda and his brother Berengar. See Louise Wilkinson, Women in Thirteenth-Century Lincolnshire (Woodbridge, 2013), pp. 86–7. Robert and his wife Matilda had numerous children: see the genealogy in ibid., p. 72. Though none of these children is known to have been named Constance, it seems highly likely that this is the Stixwould nun’s family. William, the couple’s eldest son, was married to a Matilda, the daughter of Robert of Ropsley. This is very likely the daughter-in-law named Matilda in III.59 who had the badly swollen uterus.

Robert of Cricklade, prior of St. Frideswide (d.1174x79) [II.51–2]. A theologian and hagiographer, Robert of Cricklade was prior of the Augustinian house of St. Frideswide in Oxford c.1140–74. He wrote a Life and Miracles of Thomas of Canterbury which now survives only as extracts in a fourteenth-century Icelandic saga (see Thómas Saga and Margaret Orme, “A Reconstruction of Robert of Cricklade’s Vita et Miracula S. Thomae Cantuariensis,” AB 84 (1966): 379–98). It appears that Robert began his Miracles with the same letter that Benedict utilized for II.52. On Robert of Cricklade, see Andrew N. J. Dunning, “St Frideswide’s Priory as a Centre of Learning in Early Oxford,” Mediaeval Studies 80 (2018): 253–96, and A. J. Duggan, “Cricklade, Robert of,” ODNB.

Roger, archdeacon of Shrewsbury (d. c.1182x83) [II.64]. The archdeacon of Shrewsbury oversaw the dioceses of Coventry and Lichfield. Archdeacon Roger appears as a witness to episcopal acta of the bishops Roger de Clinton (1129–48), Walter Durdent (1149–59), and Richard Peche (1161–82): see Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: XI, Coventry and Lichfield, complied by Christopher Brooke, Jeffrey Denton and Diana E. Greenaway (London, 2011), p. 35.

Roger de Clare, earl of Hertford (d.1173) [IV.94 and William no. 14]. One of the great magnates of England, Roger de Clare succeeded his brother to become earl of Hertford and lord of Clare in 1153. When Becket attempted to regain Tonbridge Castle in 1163 and demanded that Roger pay homage to him for the possession, Roger refused. William FitzStephen reported that this demand angered Henry II, noting that Roger de Clare was related to almost all of the nobility of England and had a very beautiful sister whom the king had once desired (FitzStephen, Vita, p. 43). Roger was present at the Council of Clarendon in 1164. His participation in the dispute during Becket’s exile is unknown, but he is recorded as being one of the leaders of Henry II’s Inquest of Sheriffs in 1170 and as journeying with the king when Henry II departed for Ireland in 1171. Roger married Matilda de St. Hilary, with whom he had four sons and two daughters. His heir was Richard de Clare (d.1217). On Roger de Clare, see CB nos. CCXXIII–CCXXIV, pp. 239–42; Richard Mortimer, “de Clare, Roger, second earl of Hertford (d.1173),” ODNB; R Mortimer, “The Beginnings of the Honour of Clare,” ANS 3 (1980): 119–41; J. C. Ward, “Royal Service and Reward: The Clare Family and the Crown,” ANS 9 (1989): 261–78 and J. C. Ward, “Fashions in Monastic Endowment: The Foundations of the Clare Family, 1066–1314,” Journal of Ecclesiastical History 32:4 (1981): 427–51.

Roger Pont de l’Évêque, archbishop of York (d.1181) [William no. 16]. None of the writers of the Becket Lives had anything good to say about Roger, portraying him as worldly and dissolute as well as Becket’s enemy. In June 1170, Roger presided over the coronation of Henry the Younger. Becket was outraged and suspended Roger from office. He was not reinstated until December 13, 1171. See Frank Barlow, “Pont de l’Évêque, Roger de,” ODNB.

Roger, monk of Christ Church, Canterbury [IV.58–9]. There appear to have been at least two monks named Roger at Christ Church in the late twelfth century: see BR, pp. 266 and 308. The most likely candidate for the Roger in Benedict’s story is the monk who was made abbot of St. Augustine’s in Canterbury in 1175 and died in 1213 (see HRH, p. 36). A charter dating to 1175–7 retains Roger’s seal, on which he termed himself “Roger, chaplain of St. Thomas”: see Urry, CUAK, charter no. XXVI, pp. 405–6. A late medieval chronicle states that Roger was the custodian of the altar at which Becket was martyred, and that he was chosen as abbot of St. Augustine’s in the hope that he could acquire Becket relics for the house: see Davis, William Thorne’s Chronicle, pp. 100–1.

Rohese de Vere [III.27 and IV.51]. Benedict’s “Countess Rohese” seems to be the daughter of Aubrey de Vere and Adeliza de Clare who married Geoffrey de Mandeville, earl of Essex (d.1144), with whom Rohese had three sons. After Geoffrey’s death, she married Payne de Beauchamp, a baron of Bedford (d. c.1155). Their son, Simon de Beauchamp (d.1206) followed his father as lord of Bedford. Rohese, along with her second husband, founded Chicksands, a Gilbertine priory in Bedfordshire. On his flight out of England in 1164, Thomas Becket briefly stopped at Chicksands. Rohese may well have been there, as she was known to have retired to the priory after Payne’s death. In late 1170, Rohese’s son by Geoffrey, William de Mandeville (d.1189), who was then the earl of Essex, was ordered by Henry II to apprehend Becket, but by the time he arrived at Canterbury the archbishop had been killed (see Barlow, Thomas Becket, pp. 236–7). On Rohese de Vere, see Kathryn Faulkner, “Beauchamp, de, family (per. c.1080–c.1265),” ODNB. In Faulkner’s article, Rohese’s death date is provided as 1166, but it seems that she lived longer than this.

Savaric de Vallibus, knight [Addition 2]. The de Vallibus or de Vaux family is well attested in the twelfth century. A Savaric de Vallibus appears in a charter dated to the early thirteenth century in the cartulary of Athelney abbey: see E. H. Bates, ed., Two Cartularies of the Benedictine Abbeys of Muchelney and Athelney in the County of Somerset (London, 1899), no. 31, p. 135.

Silvester, treasurer of Lisieux [IV.84]. The nephew of Arnulf, Bishop of Lisieux (1141–81), Silvester owed his position as treasurer of the cathedral’s chapter to his uncle. Bishop Arnulf was opposed to Becket during the dispute. Silvester had very different opinions. He went into exile due to Becket, had a prebend at Waltham confiscated, and corresponded with the archbishop: see CTB, vol. 1, no. 122, pp. 582–5, and vol. 2, no. 262, pp. 1130–1 n. 15.

Simon de Senlis III, earl of Northampton (d.1184) [IV.29]. When Simon’s father, Simon de Senlis II, died in 1153, Henry II gave the earldom of Northampton to the king of Scotland. Simon de Senlis III nevertheless continued to refer to himself as “Earl Simon,” just as he appears in Benedict’s miracle story. See CB no. CCV, pp. 217–20, and David Crouch, The English Aristocracy 1070–1272: A Social Transformation (New Haven, 2011), pp. 44 and 263 n. 32. Simon was formally recognized as the earl of Northampton from 1174.

Stephen de Meinil, knight (d. c.1190) [IV.52 and William no. 6]. The family name is also found as Mainel, Meynell, Menil, Menill, Meynhille, Meynil, and Maisnil. Their family seat was Whorlton in the North Riding of Yorkshire (Goulton, mentioned in Benedict’s story, is a hamlet within the parish of Whorlton). On the family, see “Parishes: Whorlton,” in A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 2, ed. William Page (London, 1923), pp. 309–19, and EYC, vol. 2, pp. 133–47, with genealogy on p. 134 and discussion of Stephen II on p. 137. Stephen is found in the Pipe Rolls as well: see PR 22 Henry II, p. 112; PR 23 Henry II, p. 78; and PR 26 Henry II, p. 67. He died c.1190 and his son Robert succeeded him. The name of Stephen’s wife, Joan, is preserved in a charter issued by Stephen granting woods to Rievaulx Abbey: see EYC, vol. 2, no. 799, pp. 144–5. Stephen made a grant to Fountains for the making of fisheries: see Cartularium abbathiæ de Rievalle, ed. J. C. Atkinson, Surtees Society no. 83 (Durham, 1889), p. 175 n. 3, and John Burton, Monasticon Eboracense (York, 1758), p. 164. Joan Wardrop, Fountains Abbey and Its Benefactors: 1132–1300 (Kalamazoo, 1987), p. 167, notes that in this grant Stephen “expressed the intention of entering Fountains as a monk,” the same monastery his son Ingelram had joined. Stephen also made grants to Gisborough, an Augustinian priory: see EYC, vol. 2, no. 800, pp. 145–7.

Stephen of Holland (Lincolnshire), knight [I.13]. Stephen appears in the Pipe Rolls as a former tenant of Duke Conan IV of Brittany (d.1171), who had held the Honour of Richmond: see PR 22 Henry II, p. 122. Stephen’s son Ralph was at Conan’s court in Brittany 1160x1168: see EYC vol. 4, p. 62.

Thomas of Etton, knight of the region of York [II.44 and William no. 1]. Thomas of Etton was the son of Geoffrey Etton and the father of three sons, Thomas, Geoffrey and Odard: see John Bilson, “Gilling Castle,” Yorkshire Archaeological Journal 19 (1906): 105–92, at pp. 107–9, and EYC vol. 9, pp. 191–4, nos. 105 and 106. Becket was appointed the provost of Beverley c.1154 and retained the post until 1163. Frank Barlow notes that as provost, Becket was likely “an absentee delegating his duties to an unidentified deputy” (Barlow, Thomas Becket, p. 38). The way William describes this miracle leaves little doubt that Thomas of Etton was that deputy (Etton is eight kilometers from Beverley). A grant he made 1154–c.1160 lists, as its second witness, a canon of Beverley named Simon (see EYC vol. 9, no. 105), indicating his connections to the chapter when Becket was provost. Thomas of Etton is also recorded as making grants to the Cistercian abbey of Meaux: see Chronica monasterii de Melsa, a fundatione usque ad annum 1396, ed. Edward A. Bond (London, 1866), vol. 1, pp. 316–19.

Turstan of Croydon, clerk [IV.65 and William no. 8]. William provides more information about Turstan than Benedict, stating that he was a native of Kent and that Archbishop Theobold (Becket’s predecessor) had appointed him proctor of Croydon. Though there is little information about Croydon’s connections to the archbishops of Canterbury in the twelfth century, in the thirteenth century the archbishops had a residence there and were using it as an administrative centre (see “Croydon: Introduction and Croydon Palace,” in A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4, ed. H. E. Malden (London, 1912), pp. 205–17). Turstan of Croydon is found in the returns for Kent in the Pipe Roll for 1174–5 (PR 21 Henry II, p. 217). In William FitzStephen’s Life, Turstan is described as one of Becket’s clerks who stayed behind when Becket was exiled. He was incarcerated for a night in a jail in London and paid 100 marks for his immunity (see FitzStephen, Vita, p. 78). John of Salisbury addressed a letter to a Turstin of Acolt (Acol, in Kent), in which he makes it clear that this Turstin had served Theobald and Becket and was a friend of the bishop of Poitiers (see LJS no. 264, pp. 535–7). This may the same man as Turstan of Croydon.

Walter de Walensis, abbot of Colchester (d.1184) [I.18]. The abbot of St. John’s Abbey in Colchester from 1168 to 1184 (see HRH, p. 40), Walter appears in a number of charters of Gilbert Foliot, bishop of London (all of them dated well after Becket’s murder): see LCGF no. 358, pp. 406–7; no. 401, pp. 441–2; and no. 464, pp. 491–2.

William, abbot of Croxton Kerrial [IV.49]. Croxton Kerrial was a Praemon­stratensian abbey in Leicestershire founded c.1160. William was its second abbot: see HRH, p. 194. It was a daughter house of Newhouse in Lincolnshire, the first Praemonstratensian abbey in England. Abbot William must have known Richard, the abbot of Sulby, another Praemonstratensian house, as they are both witnesses to a charter regarding the possessions of Newhouse: see Stenton, ed., Documents illustrative, no. 277, p. 209.

William Belet, knight of Enborne, Berkshire (d. c.1175) [I.10]. William Belet is recorded as holding land in Enborne in the 1169–70 Pipe Roll: see PR 16 Henry II, p. 72 and also PR 22 Henry II, p. 132, where he is said to be dead. On William Belet and his family connections, see John Cloake, “Appendix: I: The Belet Family in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries,” in Palaces and Parks of Richmond and Kew: Volume I, The Palaces of Shene and Richmond (Chichester, 1995), 212–18, at p. 215.

William of Earley, knight (d. by 1185) [II.53–4]. This family took their name from Earley in Berkshire, but their principal residence was in Somerset, with their holdings centered on the manor of Somerton Erleigh. William of Earley succeeded his father, John of Earley, c.1165. He submitted a return for one enfeoffed knight in 1166 (CB no. LIV, pp. 55–6), and is found in the Pipe Rolls (PR 13 Henry II, p. 103; PR 23 Henry II, p. 49; PR 25 Henry II, p. 71, 87; PR 31 Henry II, p. 25 (at which point he had died)), as well as in a number of charters. William’s uncle was Thomas of Earley (Thomas de Erlegh), a clerk of Henry II who was promoted to the archdeanery of Wells c.1169–70. The powerful Reginald FitzJocelin de Bohun, clerk to Henry II and later bishop of Bath 1174–91, spoke of Thomas de Erlegh as a relative, so William of Earley must have had some familial relationship with him as well (see EEA X: Bath and Wells, 1061–1205, ed. F. M. R. Ramsey (Oxford, 1995), xlvii–xlviii, pp. 68–73 and 134–6). William founded Buckland Priory in Somerset as a house of Augustinian canons in or after June 1170. He seems to have had some role in the refoundation of Buckland c.1180 as a house of Hospitaller nuns, sometimes known as Minchin Buckland, though the surviving documents regarding this refoundation date to c.1185, at which point he had died. See EEA X: Bath and Wells, 1061–1205, pp. 69–70 and A Cartulary of Buckland Priory in the County of Somerset, ed. F. W. Weaver (London, 1909), esp. pp. xviii–xix, nos. 1–3, 6, and 11). See also Aziria of Earley, William’s wife and mother of his son John, their heir.

William de Vernon [IV.53]. The second son of Richard de Redvers (d.1155), William de Vernon married Lucy de Tancarville and inherited the family’s possessions in Normandy near Vernon and Néhou. On William de Vernon, see Daniel Power, The Norman Frontier in the Twelfth and Early Thirteenth Centuries (Cambridge, 2004), p. 206; and on the castle at Néhou, see Thomas Stapleton, Historical Memoirs of the House of Vernon (privately printed in London about 1855), p. 67.

William, son of Ranulf (d. after 1203) [III.40]. On William son of Ranulf, the lord of Whitchurch and member of the Warenne family, see R. W. Eyton, Antiquities of Shropshire (London, 1860), vol. X, pp. 16–18, and EYC vol. 8, pp. 35–8. William appears in Pipe Roll entries starting in 1176. He made a number of grants to monasteries, including one to the Augustinian canons at Lilleshall, a little over thirty-five kilometers from Whitchurch, and another made before 1186 to Combermere Abbey, a Cistercian monastery eight kilometers from Whitchurch (for the Combermere Abbey grant, see Monasticon vol. 5, p. 326 no. 8). He was still alive in 1203.

William, priest of Bourne [I.19–21]. Described as presbiter de Burnis and sacerdos de Burnis, William is recorded as holding land near St. Margaret’s Church in Canterbury: see Urry, CUAK, p. 184, Rental A 24, p. 223 and Rental B 223, p. 243. Bourne all but certainly refers to Bishopsbourne, Kent, located eight kilometers from Canterbury.

William, priest of London [I.12]. The story of William, the speechless priest of London, is described by six contemporary writers besides Benedict. See Gervase vol. 1, p. 230; FitzStephen, Vita, p. 150; “Quaedam miracula gloriosi martyris Thomae archiepiscopi Cantuariae,” AB 20 (1901): 427–9, at p. 427; and notices in three anonymous passions edited by Robertson: MTB, vol. 4, p. 199; MTB, vol. 2, p. 289; and MTB, vol. 2, p. 288.

William the Templar, abbot of Reading and archbishop of Bordeaux [IV.72]. A friend and staunch supporter of Gilbert Foliot, the bishop of London, William the Templar was abbot of Reading from 1165 to 1173. He was promoted to the archbishopric of Bordeaux by King Henry II in 1173. He remained closely involved in the king’s affairs. On William’s career, see J. B. Hurry, “William the Templar, Abbot of Reading,” Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Archaeological Journal, xxi–xxii (1916), pp. 108–10; and on his attitudes towards Becket, see Koopmans, “Thomas Becket and the Royal Abbey of Reading.”

William Turbe, bishop of Norwich (d.1174) [IV.65 and William no. 8]. A Benedictine monk and prior of Norwich cathedral priory, Turbe became bishop of Norwich from 1146/7 to his death in January 1174. He was an elderly man in the early 1170s. John of Salisbury urged Turbe to support Becket in a letter written c.1168 (LJS no. 262, pp. 531–3), and Becket himself addressed one of his last letters to the bishop, noting that he hoped he would be able to see him again “before you depart and fly from this mortal sphere” (CTB, vol. 2, no. 328, pp. 1358–9). Turbe promoted the cult of William of Norwich, a boy whose death was (wrongly) blamed on the Jews of Norwich. Thomas of Monmouth’s tale of the boy’s death and subsequent miracles was dedicated to William Turbe: see The Life and Passion of William of Norwich, ed. and trans. Miri Rubin (London, 2014), pp. 3–7. On Turbe’s career, see Christopher Harper-Bill, “Bishop William Turbe and the Diocese of Norwich, 1146–1174,” ANS 7 (1985): 142–60, esp. pp. 153–4, and Christopher Harper-Bill, “William [called William Turbe],” ODNB.