Geoffrey of Canterbury
Geoffrey | |
---|---|
Born | Probably mid-to-late 11th century Unknown |
Died | 9 June 1154 Dunfermline (probable) |
Other names | Galfridus |
Occupation | Abbot |
Title | Abbot of Dunfermline |
Geoffrey (died 1154) was a 12th-century
Benedictine priory at Canterbury, before moving to Scotland to be the first Abbot of Dunfermline. As abbot he presided over the construction of the new monastery building, the immigration of English monks and settlers, and the accumulation of enough wealth to make Dunfermline Abbey the richest Benedictine monastic house in the Kingdom of Scotland
.
Canterbury
He rose to prominence in the 1120s, becoming
Christ Church Cathedral Priory sometime after the death of Prior Conrad on 17 February 1127.[1] He held this position for little more than a year, until in 1128 he was invited to become the first Abbot of Dunfermline, with the monastery of Dunfermline recently being promoted from a priory to an abbey, being refounded with thirteen monks from Canterbury.[2]
Canterbury and Dunfermline
Dunfermline was a daughter-house of Christ Church, while that Benedictine priory held significant influence in the
Bishop of St Andrews.[4] Now in the reign of King David I (1124–1153), the Scottish monarchy was expanding the monastery at Dunfermline, and Geoffrey came to Scotland as part of royal plans to expand the size and promote the status of the house.[5] Geoffrey was personally invited by the King of Scotland, who also sought and obtained the agreement of William de Corbeil, the archbishop.[6]
First Abbot of Dunfermline
After receiving a blessing by
Causantín, the local mormaer, Geoffrey's abbacy was generally one of successful expansion of property in which numbers of English immigrants arrived to settle in and around the town of Dunfermline.[7] During his abbacy the abbey was transformed from a small church establishment into a large Romanesque monastery, finally dedicated in 1150.[6]
After this event in 1150, the abbot is not heard of again until the report of his death.[8] The Chronicle of Holyrood recorded his death for the year 1154:
Geoffrey, the abbot of Dunfermline died; and his nephew Geoffrey succeeded in his place.[9]
His death was reported for 9 June 1154.[10] Abbot Geoffrey was buried in the abbey.[6]
Notes
- ^ Greenway, "Priors of Canterbury".
- ^ Barrow, "Benedictines", p. 174; Greenway, "Priors of Canterbury"; Watt & Shead, Heads of Religious Houses, p. 67.
- ^ Barrow, "Benedictines", p. 174.
- ^ Barrow, "Benedictines", p. 175.
- ^ Barrow, "Benedictines", pp. 174–6.
- ^ a b c d e Scott, "Geoffrey (d. 1154)".
- ^ Barrow, "Benedictines", p. 176.
- ^ Scott, "Geoffrey (d. 1154)"; Watt & Shead, Heads of Religious Houses, p. 67.
- ^ Anderson, Early Sources, vol. i, p. 224.
- ^ Watt & Shead, Fasti Ecclesiae, p. 67.
References
- Anderson, Alan Orr (1922), Early Sources of Scottish History A.D. 500 to 1286, vol. ii, Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd
- ISBN 0-7486-1803-1
- Greenway, Diana E. (1971), "Priors of Canterbury", Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: volume 2: Monastic cathedrals (northern and southern provinces), pp. 8–12, retrieved 4 April 2008
- Scott, W. W.; Harrison, B. (2004), "Geoffrey (d. 1154)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, , retrieved 4 April 2008
- Watt, D. E. R.; Shead, N. F., eds. (2001), The Heads of Religious Houses in Scotland from Twelfth to Sixteenth Centuries, The Scottish Record Society, New Series, Volume 24 (Revised ed.), Edinburgh: The Scottish Record Society, ISSN 0143-9448