Editing Henry I of England (section)

=== Relations with the Church ===
{{Further|topic=religion in England during this period|Religion in Medieval England}}

==== Church and the King ====
[[File:Anselm of Canterbury, seal.jpg|thumb|left|The seal of Archbishop [[Anselm of Canterbury]]]]

Henry's ability to govern was intimately bound up with the Church, which formed the key to the administration of both England and Normandy, and this relationship changed considerably over the course of his reign.<ref>{{harvnb|Vaughn|2007|p=134}}</ref> William the Conqueror had reformed the English Church with the support of his Archbishop of Canterbury, [[Lanfranc]], who became a close colleague and advisor to the King.<ref>{{harvnb|Green|2009|p=255}}</ref>{{refn|Anselm used the metaphor of the government being a plough pulled by two oxen, the King and the Archbishop, ruling through temporal and religious right respectively.<ref>{{harvnb|Vaughn|2007|p=135}}</ref>|group=nb}} Under William Rufus this arrangement had collapsed, the King and Archbishop Anselm had become estranged and Anselm had gone into exile. Henry also believed in Church reform, but on taking power in England he became embroiled in the [[investiture controversy]].<ref>{{harvnb|Green|2009|p=273}}</ref>

The argument concerned who should invest a new bishop with his staff and ring: traditionally, this had been carried out by the King in a symbolic demonstration of royal power, but Pope Urban II had condemned this practice in 1099, arguing that only the papacy could carry out this task, and declaring that the clergy should not give homage to their local temporal rulers.<ref>{{harvnb|Mayr-Harting|2011|pp=51–53}}</ref> Anselm returned to England from exile in 1100 having heard Urban's pronouncement, and informed Henry that he would be complying with the Pope's wishes.<ref>{{harvnb|Mayr-Harting|2011|pp=52–53}}</ref> Henry was in a difficult position. On one hand, the symbolism and homage was important to him; on the other hand, he needed Anselm's support in his struggle with his brother Robert.<ref>{{harvnb|Mayr-Harting|2011|p=53}}; {{harvnb|Green|2009|p=53}}</ref>

Anselm stuck firmly to the letter of the papal decree, despite Henry's attempts to persuade him to give way in return for a vague assurance of a future royal compromise.<ref>{{harvnb|Mayr-Harting|2011|p=53}}; {{harvnb|Vaughn|2007|p=142}}</ref> Matters escalated, with Anselm going back into exile and Henry confiscating the revenues of his estates. Anselm threatened excommunication, and in July 1105 the two men finally negotiated a solution.<ref>{{harvnb|Mayr-Harting|2011|p=53}}; {{harvnb|Vaughn|2007|p=142}}; {{harvnb|Green|2009|pp=84–88}}; {{harvnb|Hollister|2003|p=196}}</ref> A distinction was drawn between the secular and ecclesiastical powers of the prelates, under which Henry gave up his right to invest his clergy, but retained the custom of requiring them to come and do homage for the [[temporalities]], the landed properties they held in England.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|p=196}}</ref> Despite this argument, the pair worked closely together, combining to deal with Duke Robert's invasion of 1101, for example, and holding major reforming councils in 1102 and 1108.<ref>{{harvnb|Vaughn|2007|pp=139–140, 144}}</ref>

A long-running dispute between the Archbishops of Canterbury and York flared up under Anselm's successor, [[Ralph d'Escures]].<ref name=MayrHarting2001PP58>{{harvnb|Mayr-Harting|2011|pp=58–59}}</ref> Canterbury, traditionally the senior of the two establishments, had long argued that the Archbishop of York should formally promise to obey their Archbishop, but York argued that the two episcopates were independent within the English Church and that no such promise was necessary. Henry supported the primacy of Canterbury, to ensure that England remained under a single ecclesiastical administration, but the Pope preferred the case of York.<ref name=MayrHarting2001PP58/> The matter was complicated by Henry's personal friendship with [[Thurstan]], the Archbishop of York, and the King's desire that the case should not end up in a papal court, beyond royal control.<ref name=MayrHarting2001PP58/> Henry needed the support of the Papacy in his struggle with [[Louis VI of France]], however, and therefore allowed Thurstan to attend the Council of Rheims in 1119, where Thurstan was then consecrated by the Pope with no mention of any duty towards Canterbury.<ref>{{harvnb|Mayr-Harting|2011|pp=61–62}}</ref> Henry believed that this went against assurances Thurstan had previously made and exiled him from England until the King and Archbishop came to a negotiated solution the following year.<ref>{{harvnb|Mayr-Harting|2011|p=62}}; {{harvnb|Hollister|2003|pp=272–273}}</ref>

Even after the investiture dispute, Henry continued to play a major role in the selection of new English and Norman bishops and archbishops.<ref>{{harvnb|Green|2009|pp=262–265}}</ref> He appointed many of his officials to bishoprics and, as historian Martin Brett suggests, "some of his officers could look forward to a mitre with all but absolute confidence".<ref>{{harvnb|Brett|1975|p=106}}</ref> Henry's chancellors, and those of his queens, became bishops of Durham, Hereford, London, Lincoln, Winchester and Salisbury.<ref>{{harvnb|Brett|1975|pp=106–107}}</ref> Henry increasingly drew on a wider range of these bishops as advisors – particularly Roger of Salisbury – breaking with the earlier tradition of relying primarily on the Archbishop of Canterbury.<ref>{{harvnb|Vaughn|2007|p=148}}</ref> The result was a cohesive body of administrators through which Henry could exercise careful influence, holding general councils to discuss key matters of policy.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|pp=371, 379}}; {{harvnb|Brett|1975|pp=110–111}}</ref> This stability shifted slightly after 1125, when he began to inject a wider range of candidates into the senior positions of the Church, often with more reformist views, and the impact of this generation would be felt in the years after Henry's death.<ref>{{harvnb|Brett|1975|pp=111–112}}</ref>

==== Personal beliefs and piety ====
[[File:Reading Abbey 03.jpg|thumb|upright=1.65|The ruined chapter house of [[Reading Abbey]] in 2008]]

Like other rulers of the period, Henry donated to the Church and patronised several religious communities, but contemporary chroniclers did not consider him an unusually pious king.<ref>{{harvnb|Green|2009|p=14}}</ref> His personal beliefs and piety may have developed during the course of his life; Henry had always taken an interest in religion, but in his later years he may have become much more concerned about spiritual affairs.<ref>{{harvnb|Mayr-Harting|2011|pp=44–45}}; {{harvnb|Brett|1975|p=112}}</ref> If so, the major shifts in his thinking would appear to have occurred after 1120, when his son William Adelin died, and 1129, when his daughter Matilda's marriage to [[Geoffrey of Anjou]] teetered on the verge of collapse.<ref>{{harvnb|Brett|1975|p=112}}</ref>{{refn|Assessing Henry's personal attitude towards religion later in his life is challenging. Historian Richard Southern argued in favour of the two shifts being in 1120 and 1129, although Martin Brett dismissed 1120 as a probable date, preferring 1129 as the key date. Judith Green is more cautious, observing that the fashion among chroniclers during the later period was to focus more of their writing on the themes of repenting and confession, and this may have given a false impression of a shift in Henry's thinking. Henry Mayr-Harting also doubts the extent of the evidence for a mid-life change, but draws out more of his earlier piety, suggesting that Henry was always more religiously inclined than was once thought.<ref>{{harvnb|Mayr-Harting|2011|pp=46}}; {{harvnb|Southern|1962|pp=155, 163}}, cited in {{harvnb|Brett|1975|p=112}}; {{harvnb|Green|2009|p=282}}</ref>|group=nb}}

As a proponent of religious reform, Henry gave extensively to reformist groups within the Church.<ref>{{harvnb|Green|2009|pp=277–280}}</ref> He was a keen supporter of the [[Cluniac order]], probably for intellectual reasons.<ref name=Green2009P278>{{harvnb|Green|2009|p=278}}</ref> He donated money to the abbey at Cluny itself, and after 1120 gave generously to [[Reading Abbey]], a Cluniac establishment.<ref name=Green2009P278/> Construction on Reading began in 1121, and Henry endowed it with rich lands and extensive privileges, making it a symbol of his dynastic lines.<ref>{{harvnb|Hollister|2003|pp=435–438}}</ref> He also focused effort on promoting the conversion of communities of clerks into Augustinian canons, the foundation of [[Leper colony|leper hospitals]], expanding the provision of nunneries, and the charismatic orders of the [[Congregation of Savigny|Savigniacs]] and [[Tironensians]].<ref>{{harvnb|Green|2009|pp=278–280}}</ref> He was an avid collector of relics, sending an embassy to Constantinople in 1118 to collect Byzantine items, some of which were donated to Reading Abbey.<ref>{{harvnb|Green|2009|p=14}}; {{harvnb|Bethell|1971|p=69}}</ref>