|
Nigel (sometimes Nigel Poor or Nigel of Ely; c. 1100 – 1169) was an Anglo-Norman Bishop of Ely. He came from an ecclesiastical family; his uncle Roger of Salisbury was a bishop and government minister for King Henry I, and other relatives also held offices in the English Church and government. Nigel owed his advancement to his uncle, as did Nigel's probable brother Alexander, who like Nigel was advanced to episcopal status. Nigel was educated on the continent before becoming a royal administrator. He served as Treasurer of England under King Henry, before being appointed to the see, or bishopric, of Ely in 1133. His tenure was marked by conflicts with the monks of his cathedral chapter, who believed that Nigel kept income for himself that should properly have gone to them. Following the accession of Henry I's successor, King Stephen, Nigel remained as treasurer only briefly before his family was ousted from political office by the new king. Nigel rebelled and deserted to Stephen's rival Matilda, but eventually reconciled with Stephen. Although he subsequently held some minor administrative posts, he never regained high office under Stephen. On the king's death, Nigel was returned to the treasurership by the new king, Henry II. Nigel's second tenure as treasurer saw him return the administration to the practices of Henry I. He withdrew from much of his public work after around 1164, following an attack of paralysis. He was succeeded as treasurer by his son, Richard fitzNeal, whom he had trained in the operations of the Exchequer, or Treasury of England. Most historians, then and now, have felt that Nigel's administrative abilities were excellent; he is considered to have been more talented as an administrator than as a religious figure. ==Background and early life== Nigel's date of birth is uncertain, but it is likely to have been some time around 1100.〔Hudson "Nigel" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''〕〔Knowles ''Episcopal Colleagues'' pp. 9–12〕 Historians occasionally refer to him as Nigel Poor〔Brett ''English Church'' p. 110 footnote 4〕 or Nigel of Ely,〔 but before his elevation to the episcopate he was commonly known as Nigel, the bishop's nephew, or Nigel, the treasurer.〔 He was probably a Norman by ancestry although he was brought up in England,〔Spear "Norman Empire" ''Journal of British Studies'' p. 6〕 which in 1066 had been conquered by the Duke of Normandy, William the Conqueror.〔Huscroft ''Ruling England'' pp. 15–19〕 Following William's death in 1087 his realm was divided between two of his sons. His middle son, William Rufus, inherited the Kingdom of England, and the Duchy of Normandy passed to his eldest son, Robert Curthose.〔Huscroft ''Ruling England'' pp. 64–65〕 The youngest son, Henry, received a grant of money, which he used to purchase a lordship in Normandy.〔Hollister ''Henry I'' pp. 47–49〕 The brothers fought amongst themselves for the next twenty years; the initial conflict was between Rufus and Robert, but after Rufus' death in 1100 Henry, who succeeded Rufus as King of England, also became involved. Eventually, in 1106, Henry captured Robert, imprisoned him for life, and took control of Normandy.〔Huscroft ''Ruling England'' pp. 65–70〕 Nigel's uncle Roger of Salisbury, Bishop of Salisbury, saw to Nigel's education〔Cantor ''Church, Kingship, and Lay Investiture'' p. 298〕 at the school of Laon in France,〔Cantor ''Church, Kingship, and Lay Investiture'' p. 293 footnote 122〕 where he probably studied mathematics under〔 Anselm of Laon.〔 It is likely that his father was Roger's brother Humphrey.〔Kealey ''Roger of Salisbury'' p. 24〕 Other students at Laon included William de Corbeil, later Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert de Bethune, who became Bishop of Hereford, Geoffrey le Breton, future Archbishop of Rouen, and other men subsequently to hold bishoprics in the Anglo-Norman dominions.〔Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 432〕 When he took vows as a cleric is unrecorded,〔 but Nigel held a prebend, an ecclesiastical office in the cathedral, in the see of London before holding one of the offices of archdeacon in the diocese of Salisbury,〔Greenway ''(Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 2: Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces): Bishops: Ely )''〕 although which archdeaconry he held is unclear.〔Greenway ''(Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 4: Salisbury: Archdeacons of Salisbury )''〕 Most modern historians believe that Nigel was brother to Alexander of Lincoln, later Bishop of Lincoln,〔Barlow ''English Church'' p. 88〕 but this relationship is not specifically attested in the sources, which merely state that both were Roger's nephews.〔Kealey ''Roger of Salisbury'' pp. 274–275〕 William of Malmesbury, a medieval chronicler, considered both Alexander and Nigel to be well educated and diligent.〔 Nigel attended the consecration of Bernard as Bishop of St David's at Westminster in 1115, and may have returned to England from Laon by 1112.〔Kealey ''Roger of Salisbury'' p. 49 footnote 74〕 From the time of his return until around 1120 he served as a royal chaplain and attested a number of royal charters.〔Keats-Rohan ''Domesday Descendants'' pp. 828–829〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nigel (bishop of Ely)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|