Editing Henry I of England (section)

==== 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>