William of York

Early life

Born William fitzHerbert in York, William was the son of Herbert of Winchester, or Herbert fitzAlberic, chancellor and treasurer of King Henry I. Most sources say his mother was Emma, half-sister of King Stephen and Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester, and that she was an illegitimate daughter of Stephen II, Count of Blois, Stephen's father. New research, however, suggests that Emma might have been a daughter of Hunger fitzOdin, who held lands in Dorset in the Domesday survey. William was born sometime before the 1090s, but the exact date of birth is unknown.

William held the prebendary of Weighton in the diocese of Yorkshire between 27 June 1109 and 24 February 1114. Sometime between 1109 and 1114 he was appointed Treasurer of York. He was also appointed archdeacon of the East Riding of Yorkshire at an unknown date between 1125 and 1133. The influence of his rich and powerful father, who had many landholdings in Yorkshire may have been of benefit in gaining him these offices at a relatively early age. William apparently held both of these offices until his election as archbishop. Serving under Archbishop Thurstan of York, William became involved in Thurstan's dispute with King Henry I after Henry demanded that the Archbishops of York should accept subordination to the Archbishops of Canterbury. William accompanied Thurstan into exile in Europe and on embassies to the papal court. Reconciliation with Henry allowed a return to York in 1121. A papal ruling in favour of the independence of the Archbishops of York was finally delivered in 1127.

Election problems

In January 1141 William was elected Archbishop of York. Originally, the cathedral chapter of York had elected Waltheof in 1140, but that election was set aside because one of Waltheof's supporters had made an uncanonical gift to secure Waltheof's election. Then Henry of Blois tried to secure the see for Henry de Sully, another nephew of Stephen and Henry's. Sully's election was opposed by Pope Innocent II, who refused to confirm him as archbishop while he retained his post as Abbot of Fécamp. It was only at a third election, held in January 1141, that William was selected. Whether he had been a candidate in the previous two elections is unknown.

The election was opposed by the Cistercian monasteries of Yorkshire, and by the archdeacons of York. The Cistercians opposed on the grounds that the Second Lateran Council in 1139 had given the religious houses of a diocese the right to participate in the election of the bishop. Theobald of Bec, the Archbishop of Canterbury, refused to recognise William's election due to allegations of simony, or the acquisition of church positions by bribery, and of interference by King Stephen. In 1143, Pope Innocent II ruled that William could be confirmed in office if he swore under oath that the allegations were false. After he swore the oath, Henry of Blois, who was also papal legate, found William innocent, and he was consecrated as archbishop on 26 September 1143.

First archiepiscopate and deposition

As archbishop, William undertook a number of ecclesiastical reforms, and became popular with the people of York. However, he still needed a pallium, the sign of an archbishop's authority from the pope, which he had not yet received. The Cistercians, who were still adamantly opposed to his being archbishop, were determined to prevent his receiving it. William travelled to Rome in an attempt to obtain the pallium. The election of Pope Eugene III, a Cistercian, in 1145, was a setback for his cause. Bernard of Clairvaux, the famous Cistercian abbot and religious leader, exerted all his influence to ensure William's suspension, sending a series of complaints to the new pope that William had been intruded by secular powers into the see, that he was oppressing the Cistercian monasteries and that he had irregularly appointed William of St. Barbara as Dean of York. In the winter of 1145–46 Eugene re-examined the case, declared that William had not been validly consecrated, and suspended him from office. William was required to obtain an in-person refutation of the old charges by William of St. Barbara, who was now the Bishop of Durham.

While awaiting the final decision in his case, William took up residence with one of his friends, Roger II, King of Sicily. Hearing of his suspension, some of William's supporters in York launched a damaging attack upon Fountains Abbey which destroyed many of the buildings. William was formally deposed as archbishop by Eugene in early 1147 and the deposition was confirmed at the Council of Reims on 21 March 1148. Another election to York was held, and the candidates included Hilary of Chichester, who was the king's candidate, and Henry Murdac, the Cistercian abbot of Fountains Abbey. Murdac's supporters included the Cistercians and most of the clergy of the diocese, including William's former ally, William of St. Barbara. Both sides appealed to the pope, and the pope confirmed Murdac as the successful candidate. William then returned to Winchester, the city he had left forty years earlier to begin his career in York.

Second archiepiscopate

King Stephen refused to accept William's deposition and the appointment of Murdac, and prevented Murdac from taking up residence in York. Stephen probably wished to trade recognition of Murdac for support for his son Eustace. Stephen was trying to secure the coronation of Eustace as his successor during his own lifetime, to defeat the rival claims to the throne of Henry of Anjou. Within a few years, however, both Murdac and the pope had died, so William travelled to Rome to plead with the new pope, Anastasius IV, for restoration to office. The pope concurred, and William's reappointment was confirmed on 20 December 1153. On his return to York, while crossing the Ouse Bridge in York in triumphal procession, the bridge collapsed, yet no one was killed.

Death and sainthood

However, after less than a month back in York, William died, on 8 June 1154, allegedly due to poison administered in the chalice at Mass. One of William's clerks accused Osbert de Bayeux, an archdeacon of York, of the murder, and Osbert was summoned before the king to be tried at the royal court. Before the trial could take place, however, Stephen died, and the trial never took place. William was buried in York Minster and within a few months of his death, miracles were attributed to his intervention and a sweet smell came from his tomb when it was damaged during a fire. Nor was the body decayed or burnt in the fire. Pope Honorius III then ordered an investigation into the miracles. In 1227, he was canonised in Rome by Pope Honorius III.

William's feast day is celebrated on 8 June, the day of his death, although his veneration is largely localised to York. Traditional iconography and windows often depict William's crossing of the Tweed; some iconography shows him crossing in a boat. William's coat of arms traditionally depicts seven mascles or lozenges. St William's College, which was named for him is next to York Minster. It was established between 1465 and 1467 with the permission of King Edward IV as the home for chantry priests of the Cathedral. His remains were rediscovered in the 1960s and are now in the crypt at York Minster.