Editing Ralph d'Escures (section)

==Archbishop of Canterbury==
It is noteworthy that, while Ralph was not chosen by the chapter of Canterbury alone, his election involved an assembly of the magnates and bishops meeting with the king. He was not selected solely by the king, nor solely by the bishops or chapter.<ref name=Cantor281>Cantor ''Church, Kingship, and Lay Investiture'' p. 281</ref> Ralph received his pallium from the pope, rather than travelling to Rome to retrieve it.<ref name=Barlow38>Barlow ''English Church 1066–1154'' p. 38</ref> However, It was only with difficulty that Pope Paschal II was persuaded to grant the pallium, as the papacy was attempting to reassert papal jurisdiction over the English Church. It was [[Anselm of St Saba]] who brought the pallium to England, along with letters from Paschal complaining that the English Church was translating bishops from see to see without papal permission, that [[papal legate|legates]] from the papacy were being refused entry to England and that the king was allowing no appeals to be made to the pope over ecclesiastical issues.<ref name=HenryI240>Hollister ''Henry I'' pp. 240–243</ref> In 1116 the pope even demanded the payment of [[Peter's Pence]], a payment direct to the papacy of a penny from every household in England. Ralph, when he took the pallium, professed "fidelity and canonical obedience" to the pope, but did not submit to the papal demands and, in fact, supported King Henry in opposing the pope's demands.<ref name=Cantor301>Cantor ''Church, Kingship, and Lay Investiture'' pp. 301–308</ref>

As archbishop Ralph championed the rights of the see of Canterbury and the English church.<ref name=Barlow83>Barlow ''English Church'' p. 83</ref> He claimed authority in Wales and Scotland, writing to the pope that "the church of Canterbury has not ceased to provide pastoral care for the whole of Britain and Ireland, both as a benevolence and from its rights of primacy."<ref name=Bartlett92>Quoted in Bartlett ''England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings'' p. 92</ref> He advised the [[bishop of Llandaff]] that a new [[Llandaff Cathedral]] should be built and granted an [[indulgence]] to contributors.<ref name=HenryI395>Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 395</ref> He even refused to consecrate [[Thurstan]] as [[Archbishop of York]] because Thurstan would not profess obedience to the Archbishop of Canterbury,<ref name=Vaughn357>Vaughn ''Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan'' pp. 357–359</ref> part of the [[Canterbury-York dispute]].<ref name=Church39>Barlow ''English Church'' pp. 39–44</ref> At first, Ralph depended only on the king to demand Thurstan to submit, but later he appealed to the popes to force Thurstan to obey.<ref name=Cantor301/> His refusal brought him into a dispute with the papacy, for Pope Paschal II supported Thurstan. Ralph visited Rome in 1117, but was unable to obtain an interview with Paschal as the pope had fled the city in front of an invading [[Holy Roman Empire|imperial]] army.<ref name=Cantor301/> Ralph had taken ill with an ulcer on his face during the trip to Rome and, for a time, it was feared that he would die. He recovered enough to continue on to Rome, however, although it was a fruitless trip.<ref name=DNB/> Despite instructions from Paschal's successors, [[Pope Gelasius II|Gelasius II]] and [[Pope Callixtus II|Calixtus II]], the archbishop continued to refuse to consecrate Thurstan, and Thurstan was still unconsecrated when Ralph died.<ref name=Vaughn362>Vaughn ''Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan'' p. 362</ref> Thurstan was eventually consecrated at [[Reims|Rheims]] by Pope Calixtus II in May 1119, although the issue of primacy remained unresolved.<ref name=DNB/>

Although he feuded with York over the primacy, it appears clear that Ralph considered the [[Investiture Controversy|Investiture Crisis]] settled in England for, in 1117 while visiting Rome, he took a neutral position as regards the issues between the Pope and the Emperor.<ref name=Cantor275>Cantor ''Church, Kingship, and Lay Investiture'' pp. 275–276</ref> In 1115, however, he refused to consecrate [[Bernard, Bishop of St David's|Bernard]] as [[Bishop of St David's]] in the royal chapel, although [[Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester|Robert of Meulan]], the king's chief counsellor, advocated that the consecration must take place in the royal chapel according to ancient custom. The king did not insist and Ralph won the confrontation.<ref name=Cantor281/> He was also involved in ecclesiastical affairs in Normandy, as he attended the provincial synod, or Council of Rouen, held in 1118.<ref name=Spear3>Spear "Norman Empire" ''Journal of British Studies'' p. 3</ref>