Editing Ranulf Flambard

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{{Short description|Bishop of Durham and royal official (c. 1060 – 1128)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| name           =Ranulf Flambard
| image          =
| title          = [[Bishop of Durham]]
| appointed = May 1099
| consecration = 5 June 1099
| predecessor    = [[William de St-Calais]]
| successor      =[[Geoffrey Rufus]]
| birth_date  = [[Wiktionary:circa|c.]] 1060
| death_date =5 September 1128
| buried = [[Durham Cathedral]] in the [[chapter house]]
}}

'''Ranulf Flambard'''{{efn|Sometimes known as  '''Ralph Flambard''', '''Ranulph Flambard''', or '''Ranulf Passiflamme'''.<ref name=Feudal147>Barlow ''Feudal Kingdom of England'' p. 147</ref>}} ([[Wiktionary:circa|c.]] 1060&nbsp;– 5 September 1128) was a medieval [[Normans|Norman]] [[Bishop of Durham]] and an influential government official of King [[William II of England|William Rufus]] of England. Ranulf was the son of a priest of [[Bayeux]], Normandy, and his nickname Flambard means incendiary or torch-bearer, and may have referred to his personality. He started his career under King [[William I of England]], probably in the compilation of the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086, as well as being the keeper of the king's seal. On the death of William I, Ranulf chose to serve the new king of England, William Rufus.

Under Rufus, Ranulf continued to hold the king's seal, and also became involved in the financial administration of the kingdom, where he quickly made a name for himself by his novel methods of raising revenue. He was given custody of a number of vacant ecclesiastical offices, administering at one point sixteen vacant bishoprics or abbeys. His many duties have led to him being considered the first [[Justiciar|Chief Justiciar]] of England. During Rufus's reign, Ranulf supervised the construction of the first stone bridge in London and oversaw the construction of the king's hall at [[Palace of Westminster|Westminster]]. In 1099 he was rewarded with the bishopric of Durham.

On the death of Rufus in 1100, Ranulf was imprisoned in the [[Tower of London]] by Rufus' successor [[Henry I of England]]. Ranulf was a convenient scapegoat for the financial extortions of Rufus's reign. He became the first prisoner to escape from the Tower and went into exile in Normandy with Rufus's and Henry's older brother [[Robert Curthose]], the [[Duke of Normandy]]. Ranulf became a leading advisor to Robert, and assisted in his unsuccessful invasion of England, an attempt to oust Henry from the throne. The brothers reconciled, but although Ranulf was restored to office he spent the next few years in Normandy, returning only after Henry had defeated Robert at the [[Battle of Tinchebray]]. Ranulf subsequently retired from political life, with only occasional appearances in public. He remained active in ecclesiastical affairs, attending councils and working to defend the rights of his see.

==Early life==
[[File:Domesday Book - Warwickshire.png|thumb|right|A page from [[Domesday Book]], which Ranulf was involved with]]
Ranulf was a Norman<ref name=Poole170>Poole ''Domesday Book to Magna Carta'' pp. 170–171</ref> and the son of Thurstin, a parish priest in the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Bayeux|diocese of Bayeux]]. Ranulf was probably born about 1060, as he was close to 70 when he died in 1128.<ref name=Rufus193>Barlow ''William Rufus'' pp. 193–205</ref> Originally he worked for [[Odo of Bayeux]], but he soon entered the [[Chancery (medieval office)|chancery]] of King William I, Odo's half-brother. He stood out amongst the other clerks for his intelligence and his good looks.<ref name=Feudal150>Barlow ''Feudal Kingdom of England'' pp. 150–151</ref> His nickname, Flambard, means torch-bearer, incendiary or devouring flame; and may have been given to him for his high-spirited personality.<ref name=Mason75>Mason ''William II'' p. 75</ref> [[Orderic Vitalis]], a medieval chronicler, records that [[Robert Despenser|Robert fitzThurstin]] gave the nickname to Ranulf, because Robert resented the fact that Ranulf, though of low birth, ordered the nobility around.<ref name=Rufus141>Barlow ''William Rufus'' p. 141</ref> Archbishop [[Anselm of Canterbury]] told the pope that the nickname came from Ranulf's cruelty, which Anselm likened to a consuming flame.<ref name=Rufus193/> Orderic went on to claim that Ranulf was "educated from boyhood with base parasites among the hangers-on of the court".<ref name=Turner107>Quoted in Turner "Changing Perceptions" ''Journal of British Studies'' p. 107</ref>

Ranulf acquired the reputation of an able financier and administrator and helped to increase the royal revenues.<ref name=Chibnall115>Chibnall ''Anglo-Norman England'' p. 115</ref> He appears to have played an important part in the compilation of the Domesday survey,<ref name=Chibnall114>Chibnall ''Anglo-Norman England'' p. 114</ref> perhaps even the main orchestrator of the project.<ref name=Mason75/><ref name=Mason85>Mason ''William II'' pp. 85–86</ref> Domesday Book gives his profession as a clerk and records him holding land in a number of counties.<ref name=Poole170/> Before the death of the old king he became chaplain to [[Maurice (Archdeacon of Le Mans)|Maurice]], [[Bishop of London]], whom he had formerly served in the chancery. Some sources call him "almost illiterate", but this probably meant he was not formally educated in the liberal arts.<ref name=Chibnall127>Chibnall ''Anglo-Norman England'' p. 127</ref> His work in the chancery and as an administrator would have required knowledge of Latin.<ref name=Rufus193/> He also served as the keeper of the king's seal from about 1085. Once, while he was travelling in the [[River Thames|Thames]] estuary with the seal, he was captured by pirates. He prevented the capture of the seal by throwing it into the sea.<ref name=Chibnall133>Chibnall ''Anglo-Norman England'' p. 133</ref> Although he served William the Conqueror, he does not attest a single genuine charter or writ of William's, which implies he was not a leading servant.<ref name=DNB>Mason "Flambard, Ranulf" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''</ref> When King William died and his lands were split between his elder son Robert Curthose, who received Normandy, and the third son, William Rufus,{{efn|The second son, Richard, had died about 1075 without children.<ref name=Mason36>Mason ''William II'' p. 36</ref>}} who received England, Ranulf chose to serve Rufus in England.<ref name=Feudal150/>

==Work under Rufus==
[[File:Microcosm of London Plate 094 - Westminster Hall edited.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|A drawing of the interior of [[Westminster Hall]] by [[Augustus Pugin]] (architecture) and [[Thomas Rowlandson]] (figures), dating from about 1808. The walls date to Ranulf's construction work at the site.]]
Before the death of William the Conqueror, Ranulf held a [[Prebendary|prebend]] in the [[diocese of Salisbury]].<ref name=Mason178/> Early in the reign of Rufus he held the offices of [[dean (religion)|dean]] of Christchurch in [[Christchurch, Dorset|Twynham, Hampshire]] and was a prebendary of London and Lincoln.<ref name=Mason178/><ref name=BHODurham>Greenway "Durham: Bishops" ''Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300'': Volume 2: Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces)</ref> He was still keeper of the king's seal, and also may have been in charge of the royal ''[[scriptorium]]''.<ref name=Rufus147>Barlow ''William Rufus'' p. 147</ref> He is usually described as the chaplain of Rufus,<ref name=Lyon153>Lyon ''Constitutional and Legal History'' p. 153</ref> but he is also called treasurer<ref name=Rufus147/> and sometimes ''capitalis justicaiarius''.<ref name=Chrimes20>Chrimes ''Introduction to the Administrative History'' p. 20</ref> Other times his role is given the title ''procurator''.<ref name=Mason75/> William of Malmesbury calls him the "manager of the whole kingdom".<ref name=Moore231>Quoted in Moore "Ranulf Flambard and Christina of Markyate" ''Belief and Culture'' p. 231</ref>

At Christchurch, Ranulf reduced the number of canons serving the church from 25 to 13 by not replacing clerks who died. Ranulf kept the revenues that would have gone to the missing canons and used them to rebuild the church.<ref name=Williams128>Williams ''English and Norman Conquest'' p. 128</ref> Some medieval sources claim that in rebuilding the church at Twynham, he not only demolished the church he was replacing but nine others that were nearby.<ref name=Dodwell233>Dodwell ''Anglo-Saxon Art'' p. 233</ref>

As chief financial administrator, Ranulf bore the brunt of the chronicler's condemnations for extortion and efforts to increase royal revenues. Besides attempts to increase the efficiency of collection and the rate of taxation, Ranulf created new methods of raising money.<ref name=DNB/> One of his new measures in revenue collection came in 1094, when the [[Leidang#England|fyrd]], or English militia, was assembled to fight in Normandy against the king's brother Robert Curthose. When all the men had assembled, instead of sending them to Normandy, Ranulf dismissed them, after collecting the 10 [[shilling]]s that each man had been given by their district for maintenance. Ranulf then spent the money on mercenaries.<ref name=Huscroft66>Huscroft ''Ruling England'' p. 66</ref> Ranulf also actively pressed lawsuits, including bringing suit against Anselm on the day of Anselm's consecration as [[Archbishop of Canterbury]].<ref name=Cantor63>Cantor ''Church, Kingship, and Lay Investiture'' p. 63</ref> Another innovation was the attempt to collect a relief, much like the relief due from vassals at the death of an overlord, from the under-tenants of church lands when the church office changed hands.<ref name=Monastic612>Knowles ''Monastic Order'' pp. 612–613</ref> This attempt came at the death of [[Wulfstan (Bishop of Worcester)|Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester]] in 1095, when the king sent writs to the free tenants of the bishop, setting the amount of relief owed to the king.<ref name=Mason137>Mason ''William II'' p. 137</ref> This attempt was not repeated, however.<ref name=Mason178>Mason ''William II'' pp. 178–179</ref>

Ranulf administered for the king a large proportion of the vacant ecclesiastical offices.<ref name=Huscroft99>Huscroft ''Ruling England'' p. 99</ref> He personally managed sixteen abbeys or bishoprics.<ref name=HenryI381>Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 381</ref>{{efn|Among which were Chertsey, Canterbury, and New Minster.<ref>Knowles ''Monastic Order'' p. 613 footnote3</ref>}} Eventually he obtained the wealthy [[Bishop of Durham|see of Durham]] for himself in May 1099, being consecrated on 5 June 1099.<ref name=Handbook241>Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 241</ref> He had been the custodian of the see since the death of the previous bishop in early 1096.<ref name=Rufus359>Barlow ''William Rufus'' p. 359</ref> At his consecration, he managed to avoid giving a profession of obedience to [[Thomas of Bayeux|Thomas]] the [[Archbishop of York]], just as his predecessor had done.<ref name=Vaughn329>Vaughn ''Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan'' p. 329 footnote 83</ref> [[William of Malmesbury]], a medieval chronicler, accused Ranulf of paying 1,000 [[Pound sterling|pounds]] for the bishopric.<ref name=Bartlett407>Bartlett ''England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings'' p. 407</ref> He was given ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Carlisle and Cumbria because his predecessors had done so as bishops of Lindisfarne, but he only exercised this for a short time, as after the accession of Henry I jurisdiction over these areas was transferred to the diocese of York.<ref name=Rose124>Rose "Cumbrian Society" ''Studies in Church History'' p. 124</ref>

It has been suggested that Ranulf may have been the first Justiciar of all England (or chief justiciar),<ref name=Rufus202>Barlow ''William Rufus'' p. 202</ref> although he never held the title and it is not clear if his power was as extensive as [[Roger of Salisbury]] in the following reign.<ref name=Govern159>Richardson and Sayles ''Governance of Mediaeval England'' p. 159</ref> He ran the government of England while Rufus was fighting in Normandy, not only raising money, but issuing [[writ]]s and judging court cases.<ref name=Huscroft83>Huscroft ''Ruling England'' p. 83</ref> William of Malmesbury, in describing Ranulf's financial efforts, said that he "skinned the rich, ground the down the poor, and swept other men's inheritances into his net."<ref name=QHuscroft125>Quoted in Huscroft ''Ruling England'' pp. 125–123</ref> Orderic said that Ranulf planned to revise the survey of England, almost certainly Domesday Book, and that he planned to use that revised survey to confiscate all excess holdings over a certain amount. If this was really planned, it was never carried out.<ref name=DNB/>

Ranulf often worked in concert with [[Haimo (dapifer)|Haimo]] the ''[[Seneschal|dapifer]]'', or seneschal, and [[Urse d'Abetot]] in carrying out royal judgements. On one occasion, they, along with [[Robert Bloet]] the [[Bishop of Lincoln]], reassessed the lands of [[Thorney Abbey]] for taxes. On another occasion, they were ordered along with [[Ralph de Luffa]] [[Bishop of Chichester]] to see that the abbey of Fecamp received custody of a church at [[Steyning]].<ref name=Justice58>Stenton ''English Justice'' pp. 58–59</ref> Others who often worked with Ranulf were [[Robert Fitzhamon|Robert FitzHaimo]], [[Roger Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk|Roger Bigod]], and [[Eudo Dapifer|Eudo]] the ''dapifer''. These men are sometimes considered by historians to be the first [[Exchequer of pleas|Barons of the Exchequer]].<ref name=Mason23>Mason ''William II'' p. 23</ref> There are also signs during Ranulf's administration of resident justices in the counties who held courts for the king. Itinerant justices were probably also used to hear pleas that were reserved to the crown.<ref name=Lyon168>Lyon ''Constitutional and Legal History'' pp. 168–169</ref><ref name=Lyon190>Lyon ''Constitutional and Legal History'' pp. 190–191</ref>

While administering England for Rufus, Ranulf also supervised construction projects. Under his management, the first stone bridge in London was constructed. Ranulf also built a wall around the [[White Tower (Tower of London)|White Tower]] in London, enclosing the inner ward. A new hall at Westminster was also built,<ref name=Feudal167>Barlow ''Feudal Kingdom of England'' pp. 167–168</ref> of which the outside walls of [[Palace of Westminster#Westminster Hall|Westminster Hall]] are still surviving.<ref name=CrouchP22>Crouch ''Normans'' caption to plate 22</ref> He started building the church at Christchurch at Twynham, which he had been granted by Rufus. After Rufus' death, the church was confiscated from Ranulf, and building work ceased. The crypts and transepts of the current church, however, date from Ranulf's construction work.<ref name=Kerr28>Kerr ''Norman Sites'' p. 28</ref>

==Under Henry I==
[[File:Cathedral of Durham 04.JPG|thumb|right|Entrance to [[Durham Cathedral]]]]
At the succession of King Henry I, the new king imprisoned Ranulf in the Tower of London<ref name=Huscroft68>Huscroft ''Ruling England'' p. 68</ref> on 15 August 1100<ref name=Cantor134>Cantor ''Church, Kingship, and Lay Investiture'' p. 134</ref> on charges of embezzlement.<ref name=Vaughn229>Vaughn ''Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan'' p. 229</ref> His custodian, William de Mandeville, allowed the bishop to escape<ref name=Chibnall75>Chibnall ''Anglo-Norman England'' p. 75</ref> on 3 February 1101.<ref name=Poole115>Poole ''Domesday Book to Magna Carta'' p. 115</ref> Flambard was not only the first inmate at the castle, but also the first person to escape from it.<ref name=HenryI116>Hollister ''Henry I'' pp. 116–117, pp. 133–134</ref><ref>"Ranulf Flambard, Bishop of Durham" ''Tower of London''</ref> According to Orderic, friends smuggled to Ranulf a rope in a flagon of wine, he gave the drink to his guards, and after they were drunk and asleep, climbed down the rope to escape. His friends had arranged a ship to transport Ranulf, some of the bishop's treasure, and the bishop's elderly mother to Normandy.<ref name=Crouch170>Crouch ''Normans'' p. 170</ref> He took refuge across the [[English Channel]] with Henry's brother Robert Curthose, where he became one of the duke's principal advisors.<ref name=Huscroft69>Huscroft ''Ruling England'' p. 69</ref><ref name=Civil323>Hollister "Anglo-Norman Civil War" ''English Historical Review'' pp. 323–324</ref> King Henry dispossessed Ranulf of his lands at [[Whitsun]] in 1101,<ref name=Vaughn229/> and the new Archbishop of York [[Gerard (Archbishop of York)|Gerard]] deposed him from his bishopric.<ref name=HenryI136>Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 136</ref> The Archbishop of Canterbury, Anselm arranged for Flambard's trial in a papal court for [[simony]], and a papal decree was issued against Ranulf.<ref name=Vaughn234>Vaughn ''Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan'' p. 234</ref>

As Robert's advisor, Ranulf pressed the duke to dispute Henry's claim to the crown of England.<ref name=Feudal167/> The historian [[David Crouch (historian)|David Crouch]] says that Ranulf "had to provide the strategic vision and energy that Duke Robert lacked",<ref name=QNormans165>Quoted in Crouch ''Normans'' p. 165</ref> and other historians have agreed that Ranulf's arrival was the catalyst to Curthose's ability to mount an invasion.<ref name=Civil323/> Ranulf was in charge of organising transport for the duke's invasion of England,<ref name=Vaughn231>Vaughn ''Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan'' p. 231</ref> and also secured the defection of some of Henry's ships, thus allowing the fleet to land safely.<ref name=Crouch171>Crouch ''Normans'' p. 171</ref> Robert invaded England in July 1101 along with Ranulf, but Robert agreed at the [[Treaty of Alton]] on 2 August 1101 to renounce his claim to the English throne.<ref name=Feudal174/> Although no chronicler mentions Ranulf being present at Alton, he probably was there.<ref name=Civil329>Hollister "Anglo-Norman Civil War" ''English Historical Review'' p. 329</ref> Ranulf was pardoned in the treaty and restored to his bishopric, but he chose to stay with Robert for five more years.<ref name=Feudal174/> Some historians, including C. W. Hollister, see the treaty as mainly Ranulf's work, as mainly an attempt to salvage his ecclesiastical career in England, along with a displacement of Ranulf from being the chief councillor of Curthose to merely being one of many.<ref name=Civil327>Hollister "Anglo-Norman Civil War" ''English Historical Review'' p. 327</ref>

Robert rewarded Ranulf for his advice during the invasion by entrusting him with the administration of the [[Bishop of Lisieux|see of Lisieux]].<ref name=Vaughn269>Vaughn ''Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan'' p. 269</ref> After Robert's defeat by Henry at Tinchebray in 1106, the bishop was among the first to make his peace with Henry, and returned to Durham.<ref name=Crouch179>Crouch ''Normans'' p. 179</ref> He retired from political life. Henry had already replaced him with Roger of Salisbury an able financier who was infinitely more acceptable to the nation.<ref name=Feudal150/> Although some historians have theorised that Ranulf's time in Normandy was as an agent of Henry, it appears that Ranulf was mainly looking out for his own interests and those of his family.<ref name=Civil333>Hollister "Anglo-Norman Civil War" ''English Historical Review'' p. 333</ref>

In 1108, Ranulf was dragged into the middle of the ongoing dispute between Archbishop Anselm and the newly appointed Archbishop of York, [[Thomas II of York|Thomas]] over whether or not Thomas should profess obedience to Anselm. Because Anselm refused to consecrate Thomas without a profession, and Thomas refused to profess, Thomas was unable to consecrate bishops himself. Ranulf wrote to Anselm, asking that he might act as Thomas' surrogate and consecrate [[Thurgot]] as [[Archbishop of St Andrews|Bishop of St Andrew's]]. In September 1108, Anselm wrote to Ranulf forbidding anyone but Thomas or Anselm himself to consecrate Thurgot or any other bishops.<ref name=Vaughn337>Vaughn ''Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan'' p. 337</ref> Later, Ranulf tried to bribe King Henry to take Thomas' side.<ref name=Vaughn347>Vaughn ''Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan'' pp. 347–348</ref> Thurgot had been prior of the [[cathedral chapter]] at Durham, but had disagreed with Ranulf, who arranged for him to be elected to St Andrew's as a solution to the quarrel.<ref name=Monastic629>Knowles ''Monastic Order'' p. 629</ref>

It was Ranulf who ordained [[Thurstan]], the archbishop-elect of York, as a priest in 1115, although Thurstan had to wait for consecration as bishop for another four years.<ref name=DNB/>{{efn|Thurstan also refused to profess obedience to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was now [[Ralph d'Escures]].<ref>Bartlett ''England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings'' p. 394</ref>}} Ranulf attended the [[Council of Reims]] in 1119 held by Pope [[Pope Callixtus II|Callixtus II]].<ref name=Church111>Barlow ''English Church 1066–1154'' p. 111</ref> In 1125 [[John of Crema]], the papal legate to England, visited Durham to investigate charges against the bishop. Medieval chroniclers told the story that the legate was much taken with Ranulf's niece, and after sleeping with the girl, took no action on the charges against Ranulf.<ref name=Bartlett555>Bartlett ''England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings'' p. 555</ref> The story is unlikely to be true.<ref name=HenryI307>Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 307</ref>

==Death and legacy==
[[File:Durham View from Cathedral.JPG|thumb|upright=1.3|left|Modern view from Durham Cathedral looking towards [[Durham Castle]] across [[Palace Green]]]]
Ranulf worked to complete the [[Durham Cathedral|cathedral]]<ref name=DNB/> which his predecessor, [[William de St-Calais]], had begun;<ref name=Adams200>Adams ''History of Western Art'' p. 200</ref> fortified Durham with a wall around [[Durham Castle]],<ref name=Feudal167/> built [[Norham Castle]] to help defend the [[River Tweed|Tweed River]];<ref name=Pettifer193>Pettifer ''English Castles'' p. 193</ref><ref name=Bartlett281>Bartlett ''England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings'' p. 281</ref>{{efn|This was probably a timber and earth castle and was rebuilt in stone by [[Hugh de Puiset]], a later bishop.<ref>Kerr ''Norman Sites'' p. 174</ref>}} and endowed the collegiate church of Christchurch, Hampshire. He built or expanded other churches, including the one at Christchurch in Hampshire which he had endowed, and St. Martin's in [[Dover]].<ref name=Poole260>Poole ''Domesday Book to Magna Carta'' p. 260</ref> The first stone bridge at Durham was completed by his instruction in 1120, the so-called [[Framwellgate Bridge]],<ref name=DNB/> a bridge described as "of wonderful workmanship."<ref name=Bartlett364>Bartlett ''England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings'' p. 364</ref> He cleared and levelled the Palace Green in Durham between the castle and the cathedral.<ref name=Feudal174>Barlow ''Feudal Kingdom of England'' pp. 174–175</ref> While the chroniclers mainly condemned Ranulf for his morals, his own cathedral chapter held him in high esteem because of his building activities and his defence of the rights of Durham.<ref name=Chibnall71>Chibnall ''Anglo-Norman England'' p. 71</ref> Although he usurped some of the income of the cathedral chapter, the money from those rights was used to complete the cathedral rebuilding, and later restored the income to the monks as well as increasing the endowment.<ref name=Dawtry91/> At his death, the cathedral walls were complete up to "the covering", which probably means the vault instead of the roof.<ref name=Snape22>Snape "Documentary Evidence" ''Medieval Art and Architecture'' p. 22</ref>

Ranulf attracted scholars to his household and reformed the administration of the diocese by dividing it into archdeaconries.<ref name=Feudal150/> Ranulf oversaw the translation of [[Cuthbert of Lindisfarne|Saint Cuthbert]]'s relics to a new tomb in a lavish ceremony. He was also a patron to the hermit [[Godric of Finchale|Saint Godric]], whom he befriended.<ref name=Church73>Barlow ''English Church 1066–1154'' pp. 73–74</ref>

One of Ranulf's brothers was [[Fulcher]], who was Bishop of Lisieux in 1101.<ref name=Spear5>Spear "Norman Empire and the Secular Clergy" ''Journal of British Studies'' p. 5</ref>{{efn|Fulcher's name has sometimes been given as William.<ref>Schriber ''Dilemma of Arnulf of Lisieux'' p. 26</ref>}} Another brother was Osbern, who was a royal clerk for Rufus,<ref name=Rufus150>Barlow ''William Rufus'' p. 150</ref> and the last brother was Geoffrey.<ref name=Rufus193/> Fulcher may have been appointed bishop to enable Ranulf to exploit the see while Ranulf was in exile in Normandy.<ref name=Schriber26>Schriber ''Dilemma of Arnulf of Lisieux'' pp. 26–27</ref> Ranulf had a son, Thomas of Lisieux, who also held the see of Lisieux,<ref name=Spear5/> right after his uncle. Like his uncle, he may have been appointed as a placeholder to allow his father to appropriate the revenues of Lisieux.<ref name=Schriber26/> Ranulf's mistress was an Englishwoman named Alveva or Ælfgifu, who was the mother of at least two of his sons.<ref name=Rufus193/><ref name=Bartlett567/> Alveva's sons were Ranulf, who was an archdeacon, and Elias.<ref name=DP354>Keats-Rohan ''Domesday People'' p. 354</ref> When Ranulf became bishop, he married her to a [[burgess (title)|burgess]] of [[Huntingdon]], but remained on good terms with both Alveva and her spouse, often staying with them when he travelled away from Durham.<ref name=Rufus193/><ref name=Bartlett567>Bartlett ''England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings'' p. 567</ref> Alveva was the aunt of [[Christina of Markyate]], and Christina is said to have rebuffed the bishop's attempts to seduce her in 1114.<ref name=Rufus193/><ref name=Govern159fn>Richardson and Sayles ''Governance of Mediaeval England'' p. 159 footnote7</ref> Alveva and Ranulf's son Elias held a prebend at London and was a royal clerk under Henry I. Ranulf's son Ralf was parson of Middleham and held a prebend at London too. He was a member of Archbishop [[Theobald of Bec|Theobald]] of Canterbury's household after 1138.<ref name=Rufus193/> Some of Ranulf's sons were educated at Laon under [[William de Corbeil]], who was one of Ranulf's clerks.<ref name=HenryI23>Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 23</ref> One of Ranulf's nephews, Ralf, was archdeacon of Northumberland and during the reign of King [[Stephen of England|Stephen]] helped to hold the diocese of Durham loyal to Stephen.<ref name=Feudal221>Barlow ''Feudal Kingdom of England'' p. 221</ref> Other nephews were Osbert, who was sheriff of Durham, and Robert, Richard, and William who held fiefs.<ref name=Rufus193/> Unrelated to Ranulf, William of Corbeil became one of Ranulf's household clerks and was eventually elected Archbishop of Canterbury in 1123.<ref name=Church73/>

Ranulf died on 5 September 1128.<ref name=Handbook241/> He was buried in his chapter house in Durham, where his tomb was opened in 1874.<ref name=DNB/> His skeleton is still extant, and examination of it reveals that he would have been about {{height|ft=5|in=9}} tall. He was fond of clothes and was always richly dressed. While he was efficient in collecting the royal revenues, he was generous to his own men and, later in life, gave liberally to the poor. His crozier and signet ring were found in his grave, and they were rather plain.<ref name=Rufus193/> An oddity of his grave was that he was buried on top of a layer of charcoal that was laid over alternating layers of lime and dirt.<ref name=Carver13>Carver "Early Medieval Durham" ''Medieval Art and Architecture'' p. 13</ref>

Ranulf's reputation has suffered because of the hostility of the monastic chroniclers to both himself and to Rufus.<ref name=Feudal150/><ref name=Civil321>Hollister "Anglo-Norman Civil War" ''English Historical Review'' pp. 321–322</ref> Many chroniclers decried his financial ruthlessness and his lax morals.<ref name=Rufus193/><ref name=Church72>Barlow ''English Church 1066–1154'' p. 72</ref> Orderic described Ranulf's career as "addicted to feasts and carousals and lusts; cruel and ambitious, prodigal to his own adherents, but rapacious in seizing the goods of other men".<ref name=Turner107/> Besides the chroniclers, Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury wrote to Pope [[Pope Paschal II|Paschal II]], while Ranulf was in exile, describing Ranulf as "a rent collector of the worst possible reputation."<ref name=QVaughn239>Quoted in Vaughn ''Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan'' p. 239</ref> William of Malmesbury said that Flambard was a "plunderer of the rich, destroyer of the poor".<ref name=Dawtry91>Quoted in Dawtry "Benedictine Revival in the North" ''Studies in Church History 18'' p. 91</ref> Victorian historians, including [[Edward Augustus Freeman|E. A. Freeman]], vilified Ranulf, and Freeman especially held that Ranulf was a "malignant genius".<ref name=DNB/><ref name=QDNB>Quoted in Mason "Flambard, Ranulf" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''</ref> Modern historians have embraced a more moderate view, starting with [[Richard Southern]] in 1933.<ref name=DNB/> The historian David Bates felt that he, along with his successor Roger of Salisbury, "were essentially the chief managers of the king's finance and justice".<ref name=Bates11>Bates "Origins of the Justiciarship" ''Proceedings of the Battle Conference IV'' p. 11</ref>

==Notes==
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==Citations==
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==References==
{{refbegin|60em}}
* {{cite book |author=Adams, Laurie Schneider |title=A History of Western Art |publisher=McGraw Hill |location=Boston, MA |year=2001 |isbn=0-07-231717-5 |edition=Third }}
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* {{cite book |author=Barlow, Frank |title=The Feudal Kingdom of England 1042–1216 |author-link=Frank Barlow (historian) |edition=Fourth |publisher=Longman |location=New York |year=1988 |isbn=0-582-49504-0 }}
* {{cite book |author=Barlow, Frank |title=William Rufus |author-link=Frank Barlow (historian) |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley, CA |year=1983 |isbn=0-520-04936-5 }}
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* {{cite encyclopedia |author=Bates, David |title=The Origins of the Justiciarship |author-link=David Bates (historian) |encyclopedia=Proceedings of the Battle Conference on Anglo-Norman Studies IV |year=1981 |editor=Brown, R. Allen |publisher=Boydell Press |location=Woodbridge, UK |isbn=0-85115-161-2 |pages=1–12;167–171 }}
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* {{cite book |author=Chrimes, S. B. |title=An Introduction to the Administrative History of Mediaeval England |edition=Third |year=1966 |publisher=Basil Blackwell |location=Oxford, UK |oclc=270094959 }}
* {{cite book |author=Crouch, David |title=The Normans: The History of a Dynasty |author-link=David Crouch (historian) |publisher=Hambledon & London |location=London |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-85285-595-6 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |author=Dawtry, Anne |title=The Benedictine Revival in the North: The Last Bulwark of Anglo-Saxon Monasticism |encyclopedia=Studies in Church History 18: Religion and National Identity |editor=Mews, Stuart |publisher=Basil Blackwell |location=Oxford, UK |year=1982 |pages=87–98 }}
* {{cite book |author=Dodwell, C. R. |title=Anglo-Saxon Art: A New Perspective |author-link=Charles Reginald Dodwell |publisher=Cornell University Press |location=Ithaca, NY |year=1985 |isbn=0-8014-9300-5 }}
* {{cite book |author1=Fryde, E. B. |author2=Greenway, D. E. |author3=Porter, S. |author4=Roy, I. |title=Handbook of British Chronology |edition=Third revised |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=1996 |isbn=0-521-56350-X }}
* {{cite book |author= Greenway, Diana E. |section=Durham: Bishops |title=Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300|volume=2: Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces)|year=1971 |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |section-url=http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=33859 |access-date=10 March 2008 }}
* {{cite journal |author=Hollister, C. W. |title=The Anglo-Norman Civil War: 1101 |author-link=C. Warren Hollister |journal=[[The English Historical Review]] |volume=88 |issue=347 |date=April 1973 |pages=315–334 |doi=10.1093/ehr/LXXXVIII.CCCXLVII.315 |jstor=564288 }}
* {{cite book |author=Hollister, C. Warren |title=Henry I |author-link=C. Warren Hollister |editor=Frost, Amanda Clark |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven, CT |year=2001 |isbn=0-300-08858-2 }}
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* {{cite book |author1=Kerr, Mary |author2=Kerr, Nigel |title=A Guide to Norman Sites in Britain |publisher=Granada |location=London |year=1984 |isbn=0-246-11976-4 }}
* {{cite book |author=Knowles, David |title=The Monastic Order in England: A History of its Development from the Times of St. Dunstan to the Fourth Lateran Council, 940–1216 |author-link=David Knowles (scholar) |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=1976 |edition= Second reprint |isbn=0-521-05479-6 }}
* {{cite book |author=Lyon, Bryce Dale |title=A Constitutional and Legal History of Medieval England |edition=Second |publisher=Norton |location=New York |year=1980 |isbn=0-393-95132-4 }}
* {{cite book |author=Mason, Emma |title= William II: Rufus, the Red King |year=2005 |publisher=Tempus |location=Stroud, UK |isbn= 0-7524-3528-0 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |author= Mason, J. F. A. |title=Flambard, Ranulf (c.1060–1128) |encyclopedia= Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/9667 |access-date=10 March 2008 |year=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi= 10.1093/ref:odnb/9667 }} {{ODNBsub}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |author=Moore, R. I. |title=Ranulf Flambard and Christina of Markyate |encyclopedia=Belief and Culture in the Middle Ages: Studies Presented to Henry Mayr-Harting |editor1=Gameson, Richard |editor2=Leyser, Henrietta |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, UK |year=2001 |isbn=0-19-820801-4 |pages=231–235 }}
* {{cite book |author=Pettifer, Adrian |title=English Castles: A Guide by Counties |publisher=Boydell |location=Woodbridge, UK |year=1995 |isbn=0-85115-782-3 }}
* {{cite book |author=Poole, Austin Lane |title=From Domesday Book to Magna Carta, 1087–1216 |author-link=Austin Lane Poole |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford, UK |year=1955 |edition=Second |isbn=0-19-821707-2 }}
* {{cite web |title=Ranulf Flambard, Bishop of Durham |url=http://www.hrp.org.uk/learninganddiscovery/Discoverthehistoricroyalpalaces/Prisoners/RanulfFlambard.aspx |access-date=11 March 2008 |work=Tower of London |publisher=Historic Royal Palaces }}
* {{cite book |author1=Richardson, H. G. |author2=Sayles, G. O. |title=The Governance of Mediaeval England: From the Conquest to Magna Carta |author2-link= G. O. Sayles |year= 1963 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |location=Edinburgh |oclc=504298 }}
* {{cite journal |author= Rose, R. K. |title=Cumbrian Society and the Anglo-Norman Church |year=1982 |journal=[[Studies in Church History]] |volume=18 |pages=119–135  |doi=10.1017/S0424208400016089 |s2cid=183905987 }}
* {{cite book |author=Schriber, Carolyn Poling |title=The Delimma of Arnulf of Lisieux: New Ideas versus Old Ideals |publisher=Indiana University Press |location=Bloomington, IN |year=1990 |isbn=0-253-35097-2 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |author=Snape, M. G. |title=Documentary Evidence for the Building of Durham Cathedral and its Monastic Buildings |encyclopedia=Medieval Art and Architecture at Durham Cathedral |year=1980 |series=British Archaeological Association Conference Transactions for the year 1977 |publisher=British Archaeological Association |location=Leeds, UK |pages=20–36 |oclc=13464190 }}
* {{cite journal |author= Spear, David S. |title=The Norman Empire and the Secular Clergy, 1066–1204 |date=Spring 1982 |journal=[[Journal of British Studies]] |volume= XXI |issue=2 |pages=1–10  |doi=10.1086/385787 |jstor=175531 |s2cid=153511298 }}
* {{cite journal |author=Turner, Ralph V. |title=Changing Perceptions of the New Administrative Class in Anglo-Norman and Angevin England: The Curiales and Their Conservative Critics |journal=[[Journal of British Studies]] |date=April 1990 |volume=29 |pages=93–117 |issue=2 |doi=10.1086/385952 |jstor=175584 |s2cid=145551379 }}
* {{cite book |author=Vaughn, Sally N. |title=Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan: The Innocence of the Dove and the Wisdom of the Serpent |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley, CA |year=1987 |isbn=0-520-05674-4 }}
* {{cite book |author=Williams, Ann |title=The English and the Norman Conquest |author-link= Ann Williams (historian) |publisher=Boydell Press |location=Ipswich |year=2000 |isbn=0-85115-708-4 }}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|60em}}
{{EB1911 poster|Flambard, Ranulf}}
* {{cite journal |author=Archer, T. A. |author-link=Thomas Andrew Archer |title=Ranulf Flambard and his Sons |date=January 1887 |journal=[[The English Historical Review]] |volume=2 |issue=5 |pages=103–112 |jstor=546835 |doi=10.1093/ehr/II.V.103-b |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044015489446&view=1up&seq=115}}
* {{cite journal |author=Craster, Edmund |author-link=Edmund Craster |title=A Contemporary Record of the Pontificate of Ranulf Flambard |url=https://doi.org/10.5284/1059875 |year=1930 |journal=Archaeologia Aeliana |series=Fourth series |volume=7 |pages=33–56}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |author=Prestwich, J. O. |title=The Career of Ranulf Flambard |encyclopedia=Anglo-Norman Durham 1093–1193 |place=Woodbridge |publisher=Boydell Press |year=1994 |pages=299–310 |editor=Rollason |display-editors=etal}}
* {{cite journal |author=Southern, R. W. |author-link=Richard Southern |year=1933 |title=Ranulf Flambard and Early Anglo-Norman Administration |journal=Transactions of the Royal Historical Society |series=Fourth Series |volume=16 |pages=95–128 |doi=10.2307/3678666 |jstor=3678666 |s2cid=159539164}}
{{refend}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[William de St-Calais]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Bishop of Durham]]|years=1099–1128}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Geoffrey Rufus]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{St Paul's Cathedral}}
{{Bishops of Durham}}

{{good article}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2017}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flambard, Ranulf}}
[[Category:11th-century births]]
[[Category:1128 deaths]]
[[Category:11th-century English Roman Catholic bishops]]
[[Category:12th-century English Roman Catholic bishops]]
[[Category:People from Calvados (department)]]
[[Category:Normans in England]]
[[Category:Bishops of Durham]]
[[Category:Prisoners in the Tower of London]]
[[Category:Recipients of English royal pardons]]
[[Category:Deans of St Paul's]]
[[Category:English escapees]]
[[Category:Escapees from England and Wales detention]]
[[Category:William II of England]]
[[Category:Escapees from the Tower of London]]