Richard Belmeis (abt. 1050 - 1128)

Born about 1050 in Beaumais-sur-Dive, Calvados, Normandy, France [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 16 Jan 1128 at about age 78 in St Osyth, Essex, England

Disambiguation

Not to be confused with Richard de Belmeis, his namesake and nephew d.1162, also a Bishop of London (profile to be written).^[1]

In literature, they are often referred to as Richard de Belmeis I and Richard de Belmeis II respectively. Richard de Belmeis I is in Domesday as Ricardus Episcopus Londoniensis.^[2]

Biography

Richard de Belmeis, or de Beaumais was an Anglo-Norman cleric, and tenant of Roger de Montgomery. His parents are unknown, though he was probably from Beaumais-sur-Dive in Calvados, Normandy, according to one of L. C. Loyd's less fully proven attributions. ^[3]

His birth date is unknown but he died of ‘great age’ in 1127/8. He may have arrived with the invasion of 1066 which could have been his route to being a landowner in Shropshire by 1086. An estimated birth date of 1050 would have made him 16 at the invasion and 78 when he died, still quite old for the period. A post invasion arrival is possible but equally unproven.

Achievements

• Richard rose from the lower echelons of Norman landowners to become part of the Montgomery power base.
• He became Bishop of London and a member of the court of Henry I.
• He attained a position of ultimate power in Shropshire and the Welsh Marches.
• He made a significant contribution to the rebuilding of the ‘Old’ Old St. Paul’s Cathedral.
• He founded the priory of St. Osyth.

Background

He is thought to be the Richard whom the Domesday enquiry found holding the very small manor of Meadowley, in the hundred of Alnodestreu and the county of Shropshire. He also held nearby Preen. These he held as a tenant of Helgot of Holdgate , tenant-in-chief.^[4]

This seems too small a beginning for someone who became employed by Roger de Montgomery, a powerful man who dominated the Welsh Marches and was a “kinsman, friend and trusted companion of William the conqueror”. Montgomery’s many possessions included most of Shropshire, associated with the earldom of Shrewsbury.^[5][6]

Montgomery Connection

A clue to his dramatic climbing of the Norman ladder may be in Preen where he was named as holding two hides along with Godebold who held a third, both of Helgot (1086). Godebold was a priest who had a considerable property portfolio in Shropshire; he was also one of the three principal clerks to Roger de Montgomery and one of his direct tenants.^{[7][8] [9]}

Perhaps Richards’ connections with the Montgomery family reached back to Normandy. Roger's wife was murdered in Bures-sur-Dives in December 1079, (approx 40km from Beaumais) but this can only be conjecture.

In 1094 Roger de Montgomery was succeeded, at least concerning English lands, titles, and Welsh lands by his son Hugh de Montgomery. This was a political shift that Richard negotiated with ease being soon found a witness of all the Charters assigned to Earl Hugh, in the Register of Shrewsbury Abbey.^[5]

Hugh de Montgomery died in 1098 and Richard despite being part of the rebellion of 1088 (by association only) managed to avoid any entanglement, maintaining a low profile it would seem during the final years of the reign of William II (Rufus) 1087-1100 an unpopular king, given to extravagance and cruelty.

Court of Henry I

He appears in the Shrewsbury Cartulary before 1102 and is described by the Annals of Winchester as the “Clerk of Robert de Bellême” after whose forfeiture in 1102 he was given employment in Sussex and later returned to Shropshire in an almost vice-regal capacity.^[10]

Henry I at this time began to issue instructions to Richard for tasks in both Shrewsbury and Sussex.^[11]

Over the next few years, Henry allowed Richard to take effective control of the county of Shropshire as a royal agent. He was described variously as Viceroy and Sheriff. He had gained a reputation as an expert on legal matters and served as the justiciar for the king at Shrewsbury, where his brief also included oversight of Welsh affairs. The position brought wealth and land including the estates of Tong and Donington, previously retained as demesne by the Montgomery earls.^[12]

He was frequently at court in subsequent years and at other venues at the Kings behest:^[5]

• 1111, At Waltham, where the King embarked to Normandy.
• 1114, Attended the King at Burnham (Essex).
• 1115, At the Enthronement of Archbishop Ralph at Canterbury and later the same year attended with the King and Queen at the Dedication of the Abbey Church of St. Alban's.
• 1120, Assisted at the Consecration of David, Bishop of Bangor
• 1121, Assisted at the Consecration of Richard, Bishop of Hereford and the Consecration of Gregory, Bishop of Dublin In this same year attested Royal Charters at Windsor and Westminster.

Ecclesiastical

In 1108 Richard was elected to the see of London a position he held until his death but firstly he was ordained as priest, not being at that time in full orders. The rapid promotion was because, according to Henry I, he was a “most able man in secular affairs” and was to be sent far off to the Western Marches of England, to manage the King's concerns. His power was exerted in the Marches until c1122^[13][5]

Perhaps an unseemly character for a priest, he was very ambitious, as illustrated in his role in the ongoing dispute over the primacy between Canterbury and York, willing to play brinksmanship with Thomas archbishop of York, by refusing to play a part in the consecration of Anselm of Canterbury unless Thomas made a written profession of subordination.^[14]

When Ralph d'Escures filled the vacant position of Archbishop of Canterbury in 1114, his career had probably reached its zenith, though his protege William de Corbeil became the next Archbishop in 1123^[15]

As bishop of London he inherited the task of rebuilding of ‘Old’ St. Paul’s Cathedral The previous building had been destroyed by fire in 1087. This was an enormous task and said to have taken its toll both financially and mentally on Richard. He bestowed for some years all the revenues of his office on the work of construction, and yet 'it seemed that nothing had been done.' Richard also created St. Paul's churchyard and enlarged the streets and lanes about the cathedral at his own cost. Additionally, he founded St Paul's Cathedral School.^[16][17]

Family

He had at least two sons

1. Walter de Belmeis a canon of London, holding the prebend of Newington.^[18]
2. William de Belmeis Archdeacon of London.^[19]

Final years

Gatehouse at St Osyth's Priory (Late C15th)

Towards the end of his life he founded the priory of St. Osyth at the village of Chich in Essex at the site of the martyrdom of Osgyth, a 7th-century saint and princess.
In 1123 an attack of paralysis compelled him to resign his position in Shropshire and probably retire to St. Osyth where he died on 16 Jan 1127 and was buried there. The canons placed on his tomb an inscription ^[20]

Here lies Richard Beaumeis, known as Rufus, Bishop of London, a virtuous man, and of a great age, laborious throughout his life, our religious founder, who bestowed many good things on us and on the ministers of his church at St. Paul's. He died on January 16th 1127(/8). On his soul God have mercy

The gatehouse shown was built a few hundred years after his death, a late reminder of his influence and an illustration of the extraordinary persistence of cults: even today Chich is still called St. Osyth's.^[5]

Heirs

His main heirs probably due to legal acknowledgment issues for the sons of priests, were his nephews. ^[5]

• Sons of two sisters: Ralph de Langford and William de Mareni.
• Sons of his brother Robert: Philip, who became his secular heir in the Midlands, and Richard de Belmeis II.

Notes

All Dates are New Style.

Research Notes

The family tree based on the genealogy by Eyton is set out in the Wikipedia article for Richard Belmeis, which has been corrected and supplemented by reference to Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae.^[5][21]

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Richard de Belmeis II," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_de_Belmeis_II&oldid=954257884 (accessed December 12, 2020).
2. ↑ Domesday people, A Prosopography of Persons Occurring in English Documents 1066-1166 I: Domesday Book. K.S.B. Keats-Rohan Pages 362-363.
3. ↑ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Belmeis (Beaumais), Richard (d. 1127) J. F. A. Mason
4. ↑ Open Domesday Anna Powell-Smith Meadowley, Preen
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6} Antiquities of Shropshire by Robert William Eyton, volume 2, Page 193ff
6. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Roger de Montgomery," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roger_de_Montgomery&oldid=992056720 (accessed December 12, 2020).
7. ↑ Open Domesday Anna Powell-Smith Godebold the priest
8. ↑ A history of Shrewsbury by Owen, Hugh, 1761-1827 Page 263
9. ↑ Domesday people, A Prosopography of Persons Occurring in English Documents 1066-1166 I: Domesday Book. K.S.B. Keats-Rohan Pages 216-217.
10. ↑ Shropshire Archaeological Society. Transactions Vol 56, part 3, 1960. The officers and clerks of the Norman earls of Shropshire. J. F. A. Mason Page 244ff
11. ↑ Regesta regum Anglo-Normannorum, 1066-1154 by Davis, H. W. Carless pub 1913 Page 26-27
12. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Richard de Belmeis I," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_de_Belmeis_I&oldid=954245444 (accessed December 12, 2020).
13. ↑ 'Appendices: List of Bishops of London from the Conquest', in Registrum Statutorum et Consuetudinum Ecclesiae Cathedralis Sancti Pauli Londiniensis, ed. W Sparrow Simpson (London, 1873), pp. 466-468. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/st-pauls-register/pp466-468 [accessed 12 December 2020].
14. ↑ Wikisource contributors, "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Belmeis, Richard de (d.1128)," Wikisource , https://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/Belmeis,_Richard_de_(d.1128)&oldid=10563969 (accessed December 12, 2020).
15. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "List of archbishops of Canterbury," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_archbishops_of_Canterbury&oldid=970691123 (accessed December 14, 2020).
16. ↑ Secular canons: Cathedral of St. Paul', in A History of the County of London: Volume 1, London Within the Bars, Westminster and Southwark, ed. William Page (London, 1909), pp. 409-433. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/london/vol1/pp409-433 [accessed 14 December 2020].
17. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Old St Paul's Cathedral," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Old_St_Paul%27s_Cathedral&oldid=1029572378 (accessed June 28, 2021).
18. ↑ 'Prebendaries: Newington', in Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 1, St. Paul's, London, ed. Diana E Greenway (London, 1968), pp. 65-67. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/fasti-ecclesiae/1066-1300/vol1/pp65-67 [accessed 12 December 2020].
19. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Archdeacon of London," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Archdeacon_of_London&oldid=976549633 (accessed December 13, 2020).
20. ↑ Essex Archaeology and History: Volume 2 Part 1, 2 and 3 (1966 - 1970) Richard of Belmeis and The Foundation of St. Osyth's By Denis Bethel, College Lecturer in Medieval History, University College, Dublin. P299ff
21. ↑ Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 1, St. Paul's, London Edited by Diana E Greenway. Details of the bishops of London and the senior clergy of St Paul's cathedral and the diocese of London. Also includes a bibliography of modern works covering the whole Fasti series for 1066-1300.

See also

• Yeatman, John Pym. The Early Genealogical History of the House of Arundel (Mitchell and Hughes, London, 1882) Page 67: "Dapifer of the Earl of Shrewsbury"
• Buckingham Archaeological Society Hagerty, R. P. (1987). "The Buckinghamshire Saints Reconsidered 2: St Osyth and St Edith of Aylesbury". Records of Buckinghamshire 29: 125–32
• Primary source for Godebold Presbiter. Orderic Vitalis Historia Ecclesiastica ii 62
• Antiquities of Shropshire by Robert William Eyton Meadowley Vol 1 Page 148ff Preen Vol 6 Page 220ff Tong Vol 2 P191ff