Roger le Poer
Roger le Poer | |
---|---|
Lord Chancellor | |
In office 1135 – June 1139 | |
Preceded by | Robert de Sigello |
Succeeded by | Philip de Harcourt |
Personal details | |
Born | likely after 1107 |
Died | after 1139 |
Relations | Roger of Salisbury – father Matilda of Ramsbury – mother |
Roger le Poer
Background and early life
Roger was the son of Roger of Salisbury, Lord Chancellor for King Henry I of England and Bishop of Salisbury,[3][b] and Matilda of Ramsbury. It is possible that Roger of Salisbury was married to Matilda prior to his elevation to the episcopate, but this is unlikely.[6] Because their son Roger le Poer was described as "young" in 1139, it is most likely that he was born after his father's consecration as bishop in 1107.[4] A biographer of Roger of Salisbury, Edward Kealey, has argued that Roger le Poer is the same person as Roger, the archdeacon of Berkshire who died in the 1160s. Another possibility, that the younger Roger was the same as Roger of Ramsbury, archdeacon of Wiltshire, is less likely, as it is known that Roger of Ramsbury was not closely related to Adelelm, the nephew or son of Roger of Salisbury.[6] The historian Diana Greenway in the Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300 takes this view.[7]
Chancellor
The younger Roger's family was a powerful one in England
Roger travelled with the king, often accompanying him in the royal progresses around England.
Arrest and exile
In the middle of 1139, rumours were current that the family was going to defect to Stephen's rival for the throne, the
The name le poer, or pauperus, means "pauper" and was not given to Roger until after his and his father's fall from power in 1139. It is possible the new name was bestowed because he could have expected to receive a bishopric after his time as chancellor, which did not happen because of his family's disgrace.[6] Another possible reason for the name was to contrast with his father's wealth.[1] It is unlikely that he was actually poor, as his family was wealthy and powerful.[4][c] The historian Francis West described the base of the family's power as "control of the important offices of royal government".[18]
Roger was sent into exile after his family's disgrace.[6] If he is the same person as the archdeacon of Berkshire, he died in the middle of the 1160s,[6] but no other sure information is known about him after his exile.[1]
Notes
- ^ Sometimes Roger Pauper[1] or Roger Poer[2]
- ^ The chronicler William of Malmesbury calls him the nepos, or "nephew", of Roger of Salisbury, but this is a euphemism used to describe the sons of clerics in the Middle Ages.[4] William's description of Roger was that he was "a nephew or perhaps even a closer relation" of the elder Roger.[5]
- ^ Some later historians applied the same name to his father, but this is not a contemporary attestation.[4]
Citations
- ^ a b c Kemp "Roger Pauper" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ a b Keats-Rohan Domesday Descendants p. 203
- ^ Greenway "Salisbury: Bishops" Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 4
- ^ a b c d e Kealey Roger of Salisbury pp. 23–24
- ^ Quoted in King King Stephen p. 55
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Kealey Roger of Salisbury pp. 272–274
- ^ Greenway "Archdeacons: Berkshire" Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 4: Salisbury
- ^ a b c d Huscroft Ruling England p. 73
- ^ Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology pp. 70–71
- ^ Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 103
- ^ Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 83
- ^ Karn "Robert de Sigillo" English Historical Review p. 11
- ^ King King Stephen pp. 68–69
- ^ King King Stephen p. 70 and footnote 159
- ^ a b Crouch Reign of King Stephen pp. 95–98
- ^ Yoshitake "Arrest of the Bishops" Journal of Medieval History p. 98
- ^ Kealey Roger of Salisbury pp. 185–187
- ^ West Justiciarship p. 24
References
- ISBN 0-582-22657-0.
- Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
- Greenway, Diana E. (1991). "Archdeacons: Berkshire". Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300. Vol. 4: Salisbury. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
- Greenway, Diana E. (1991). "Bishops". Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300. Vol. 4: Salisbury. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
- Huscroft, Richard (2005). Ruling England 1042–1217. London: Pearson/Longman. ISBN 0-582-84882-2.
- Karn, Nicholas (June 2008). "Robert de Sigillo: An Unruly Head of the Royal Scriptorium in the 1120s and 1130s". .
- Kealey, Edward J. (1972). Roger of Salisbury, Viceroy of England. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-01985-7.
- ISBN 0-85115-863-3.
- King, Edmund (2010). King Stephen. The English Monarchs Series. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11223-8.
- Kemp, B. R. (2004). "Roger Pauper". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (revised May 2012 ed.). Oxford University Press. required)
- West, Francis (1966). The Justiciarship in England 1066–1232. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Yoshitake, Kenji (1988). "The Arrest of the Bishops in 1139 and its Consequences". .