William Warelwast was a medieval Norman cleric and Bishop of Exeter in England.
22 Facts About William Warelwast
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William Warelwast went several times to Rome as an emissary to the papacy on business related to Anselm, one of whose supporters, the medieval chronicler Eadmer, alleged that Warelwast bribed the pope and the papal officials to secure favourable outcomes for King William.
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Possibly present at King William's death in a hunting accident, Warelwast served as a diplomat to the king's successor, Henry I After the resolution of the Investiture Controversy, Warelwast was rewarded with the bishopric of Exeter in Devon, but he continued to serve Henry as a diplomat and royal judge.
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William Warelwast began the construction of a new cathedral at Exeter, and he probably divided the diocese into archdeaconries.
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William Warelwast went blind after 1120, and after his death in 1137 was succeeded by his nephew, Robert William Warelwast.
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Several medieval chroniclers hostile to William Warelwast, including Eadmer, claim that he was illiterate, but his career suggests otherwise, as it involved the extensive use of written documents.
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William Warelwast must have been an accomplished speaker, given the number of times he was used as a diplomat.
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William Warelwast was possibly educated at Laon, where later in life he sent his nephew, Robert Warelwast, to school.
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William Warelwast served the king as an envoy to Pope Urban II in 1095, when the king was seeking to have the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, Anselm of Canterbury, removed from office.
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William Warelwast visited the pope with another royal clerk, Gerard, with orders to recognize Urban as pope in return for Anselm's deposition, at least according to Eadmer, an Anselm partisan.
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William Warelwast was probably sent as an envoy to Urban in 1096 to bribe the pope into recalling the papal legate Jarento, who had been sent to England to protest the king's conduct towards the church.
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Shortly before Anselm went into exile in 1097 William Warelwast searched his baggage, probably looking for communications to the pope, either from Anselm or other English bishops rather than for valuables, and in particular for any letters of complaint.
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William Warelwast was the king's envoy at Rome when during his exile Anselm petitioned to have the king excommunicated, which according to Eadmer, who was present, William Warelwast succeeded in preventing by bribing the pope and papal officials.
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In 1106 William Warelwast was the king's negotiator in the discussions that led to the settlement of the Investiture Controversy in England.
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Early in 1106 William Warelwast was sent to Bec Abbey, where Anselm was residing in exile, to inform him of the settlement and deliver to the archbishop the king's invitation to return to England.
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William Warelwast probably relayed to the pope the news that King Henry would make no contribution to Bohemond's efforts.
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William Warelwast's elevation was a reward for his diplomatic efforts in the investiture crisis.
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William Warelwast served as a royal judge, hearing a case at Tamworth in 1114 and another at Westbourne the same year.
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William Warelwast was unable to change the pope's mind, but he did manage to prevent sanctions against the king.
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William Warelwast replaced the secular clergy staffing collegiate churches with regular canons: at Plympton in 1121 with canons from Aldgate in London, and in 1127 at the church in Launceston in Cornwall.
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William Warelwast instituted the two offices of treasurer and precentor for the cathedral chapter, as well as the first sub-archdeacons, who were under the archdeacons.
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The 16th-century antiquary John Leland thought that William Warelwast resigned his see before 1127, became a canon at Plympton, and died in 1127.