Church Roman Catholic Church Predecessor AEthelmaer of Elmham Term ended 1084 Ordination 1070 Name Herfast Herfast | Role Bishop of Elmham Consecration 1070 Appointed 1070 | |
Died 1085, England, United Kingdom | ||
Herfast or Arfast (died 1084) was the first Lord Chancellor of Norman England. He was also bishop of Elmham and of Thetford.
Life
Born in Normandy, Herfast joined William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest of England and was appointed head of the royal writing office after the Battle of Hastings. He was Lord Chancellor of England from 1068 to 1070. After serving as Lord Chancellor, he was consecrated Bishop of Elmham in 1070, but about 27 May 1072 he moved the see to Thetford, thus becoming Bishop of Thetford. He had a conflict with the Bury St. Edmunds Abbey, and when the case was brought forward, the Archbishop of Canterbury Lanfranc ruled against Herfast. He signed the Accord of Winchester in 1072 and died in 1084. He was a married bishop, and his sons held land in Norfolk at the time of Domesday Book in 1086.