Editing Robert of Jumièges (section)

==Bishop and archbishop==
[[Image:Interieur ruines jumieges.jpg|left|thumb|View of the interior ruins of Jumièges, looking west down the nave|alt=Interior shot of roofless ruined building, shot upwards towards the missing roof. The walls are in three layers, the bottom layer is made up of an arched colonnade, the second is pierced with small arched openings, and the third is mostly solid.]]

Robert accompanied Edward the Confessor on Edward's recall to England in 1042<ref name="Barlow50" /> to become king following Harthacanute's death.<ref name="DNB" /> It was due to Edward that in August 1044 Robert was appointed Bishop of London,<ref name="Handbook230">Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 230</ref> one of the first episcopal vacancies which occurred in Edward's reign.<ref name="Church46">Barlow ''English Church 1000–1066'' pp. 46–50</ref> Robert remained close to the king and was the leader of the party opposed to Earl Godwin, Earl of Wessex.<ref name="DNB" /> Godwin, for his part, was attempting to expand the influence of his family, which had already acquired much land. His daughter was Edward's queen, and two of his sons were elevated to earldoms.<ref name="Mason51">Mason ''House of Godwine'' pp. 51–53</ref> The ''[[Vita Ædwardi Regis|Life of Saint Edward]]'', a [[hagiographical]] work on King Edward's life, claimed that Robert "was always the most powerful confidential adviser of the king".<ref name="VE">Quoted in Huscroft ''Ruling England'' p. 50</ref> Robert seems to have favoured closer relations with Normandy, and its duke.<ref name="Church46" /> Edward himself had grown up in the duchy, and spent 25&nbsp;years in exile there before his return to England. He brought many Normans with him to England, and seems to have spent much time in their company.<ref name="Potts33">Potts "Normandy" ''Companion to the Anglo-Norman World'' p. 33</ref>

When Archbishop [[Eadsige]] of Canterbury died in October 1050,<ref name="Higham128">Higham ''Death of Anglo-Saxon England'' pp. 128–129</ref> the post remained vacant for five months.<ref name="DNB" /> The [[cathedral chapter]] elected Æthelric, a kinsman of Godwin and a monk at Canterbury,<ref name="Barlow104">Barlow ''Edward the Confessor'' p. 104</ref><ref name="Walker27">Walker ''Harold'' p. 27</ref> but were over-ruled when Edward appointed Robert Archbishop of Canterbury the following year.<ref name="DNB" /><ref name="Handbook214">Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 214</ref> Godwin was attempting to exercise his power of patronage over the archbishopric, but the king's appointment signalled that the king was willing to contest with the earl over the traditional royal rights at Canterbury.<ref name=Heath16/> Although the monks of Canterbury opposed it, the king's appointment stood.<ref name="Church209">Barlow ''English Church 1000–1066'' p. 209</ref> Robert went to Rome to receive his [[pallium]] and returned to England<ref name="Barlow106">Barlow ''Edward the Confessor'' p. 106</ref> where he was ceremonially enthroned at Canterbury on 29 June 1051.<ref name="DNB" /> Some Norman chroniclers state that he visited Normandy on this trip and informed Duke [[William the Bastard]] that he was the childless King Edward's heir.<ref name="Church46" /> According to these chroniclers, the decision to make William the heir had been decided at the same lenten royal council in 1051 that had declared Robert archbishop.<ref name="DNB" />

After returning from Rome, Robert refused to consecrate [[Spearhafoc]], the [[Abingdon Abbey|Abbot of Abingdon]] and the king's goldsmith,<ref name="Ruling52">Huscroft ''Ruling England'' p. 52</ref> as his successor to the bishopric of London, claiming that Pope [[Pope Leo IX|Leo IX]] had forbidden the consecration. Almost certainly the grounds were simony,<ref name="Walker29" /> the purchase of ecclesiastical office,<ref>Coredon ''Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases'' p. 260</ref> as Leo had recently issued proclamations against the practice. In refusing to consecrate Spearhafoc, Robert may have been following his own interests against the wishes of both the king and Godwin, as he had his own candidate, a Norman, in mind.<ref name="Walker29">Walker ''Harold'' p. 29–30</ref> In the end Robert's favoured candidate, [[William the Norman]], was consecrated instead of Spearhafoc.<ref name="DNB" /><ref name="Ruling52" /> Robert also discovered that some lands belonging to Canterbury had fallen into Godwin's hands, but his efforts to recover them through the shire courts were unsuccessful.<ref name="Walker29" /> Canterbury had lost control of some revenues from the shire of Kent to Godwin during Eadsige's tenure as archbishop, which Robert unsuccessfully attempted to reclaim.<ref name="Rex42">Rex ''Harold II'' pp. 42–43</ref> These disputes over the estates and revenues of the archbishopric contributed to the friction between Robert and Godwin,<ref name="Rex42" /><ref name="Campbell22">Campbell "Pre-Conquest Norman Occupation of England" ''Speculum'' p. 22</ref> which had begun with Robert's election. Robert's election had disrupted Godwin's patronage powers in Canterbury, and now Robert's efforts to recover lands Godwin had seized from Canterbury challenged the earl's economic rights.<ref name=Heath16>Bates "Land Pleas of William I's Reign" ''Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research'' p. 16</ref> Events came to a head at a council held at [[Gloucester]] in September 1051, when Robert accused Earl Godwin of plotting to kill King Edward.<ref name="Barlow111">Barlow ''Edward the Confessor'' p. 111</ref>{{efn|Godwin was especially vulnerable to this charge, as he had been involved in the death of Edward's brother Alfred during Harthacanute's reign.<ref name="Godwins42">Barlow ''Godwins'' p. 42</ref>}} Godwin and his family were exiled; afterwards Robert claimed the office of sheriff of [[Kent]], probably on the strength of [[Eadsige]], his predecessor as archbishop, having held the office.<ref name="Barlow115">Barlow ''Edward the Confessor'' p. 115</ref>

Although Robert refused to consecrate Spearhafoc, there is little evidence that he was interested in the growing movement towards Church reform being promulgated by the papacy.<ref name="Rex46">Rex ''Harold II'' p. 46</ref> Pope Leo IX was beginning a reform movement later known as the [[Gregorian Reform]], initially focused on improving the clergy and prohibiting simony. In 1049 Leo IX declared that he would take more interest in English church matters and would investigate episcopal candidates more strictly before confirming them. It may have been partly to appease Leo that Edward appointed Robert instead of Æthelric, hoping to signal to the papacy that the English crown was not totally opposed to the growing reform movement.<ref name="Stafford89">Stafford ''Unification and Conquest'' pp. 89–92</ref> It was against this backdrop that Robert refused to consecrate Spearhafoc, although there is no other evidence that Robert embraced the reform position, and his claim that the pope forbade the consecration may have had more to do with finding an easy excuse than any true desire for reform.<ref name="Rex46" /> There are also some indications that Spearhafoc was allied to Godwin, and his appointment was meant as a ''[[quid pro quo]]'' for the non-appointment of Æthelric.<ref name="Higham128" /><ref name="John177">John ''Reassessing Anglo-Saxon England'' p. 177</ref> If true, Robert's refusal to consecrate Spearhafoc would have contributed to the growing rift between the archbishop and the earl.<ref name="Higham128" />