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Robert de Chesney (died December 1166) was a medieval English Bishop of Lincoln. He was the brother of an important royal official, William de Chesney, and the uncle of Gilbert Foliot, successively Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London. Educated at Oxford or Paris, Chesney was Archdeacon of Leicester before his election as bishop in December 1148. Chesney served as a royal justice in Lincolnshire during his bishopric, and maintained a close relationship with his nephew, Foliot. He was also an early patron of Thomas Becket, and gave the young cleric an office in his diocese early in Becket's career. Although shown favour by King Stephen of England, including the right to a mint, Chesney was present at the coronation of King Henry II of England in 1154 and went on to serve Henry as a royal justice. In about 1160 Chesney became embroiled in a dispute with St Albans Abbey in the diocese of Lincoln, over his right as bishop to supervise the abbey. The dispute was eventually settled when the abbey granted Chesney land in return for his relinquishing any right to oversee St Albans. Chesney was active in his diocese; more than 240 documents relating to his episcopal career survive. They show him mediating disputes between religious houses and granting exemptions and rights in his diocese. Chesney bought a house in London to serve as an episcopal residence, constructed an episcopal palace in Lincoln, and founded a religious house outside the city. He died in December 1166, probably on the 27th, and was buried in Lincoln Cathedral. ==Historical background== After King Henry I of England's death in 1135 the succession was disputed, as the king's only legitimate son, William, had died in 1120. The three main contenders were the king's nephews—Stephen, Count of Boulogne and his elder brother Theobald II, Count of Champagne—and Henry's surviving legitimate child Matilda, usually known as the Empress Matilda because of her first marriage to the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry V. After Matilda was widowed in 1125 she returned to her father in England, who then secured her marriage to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou. All the magnates of England and Normandy were required to declare fealty to Matilda as Henry's heir, but after Henry I's death in 1135 Stephen rushed to England and had himself crowned, before Theobald or Matilda could react. The Norman barons accepted Stephen as Duke of Normandy, and Theobald contented himself with his possessions in France. But Matilda was less patient: she secured the support of King David I of Scotland, her maternal uncle, and also the support of her half-brother Robert, Earl of Gloucester, an illegitimate son of Henry I, in 1138.〔Huscroft ''Ruling England'' pp. 71–73〕 Initially Stephen was secure on his throne, but by 1139 stresses had appeared. King David of Scotland invaded in 1138, and some of the English nobles rebelled, but Stephen had dealt with both threats by April 1139. Later that year he arrested Roger, the Bishop of Salisbury, and his nephews Nigel, the Bishop of Ely, and Alexander, the Bishop of Lincoln, who were not only powerful ecclesiastics but also important royal administrators. In September 1139 Matilda landed in England to contest the throne, supported by her half-brother Robert. Stephen himself was captured in February 1141 by Matilda's forces, but Robert's subsequent capture by forces loyal to Stephen later that year allowed his exchange for Stephen in November 1141. The result was an effective stalemate, with Stephen controlling parts of the country and others under the control of Matilda's supporters. During the 1140s, Matilda's husband Geoffrey of Anjou wrested Normandy from Stephen.〔Huscroft ''Ruling England'' pp. 73–75〕 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「Robert de Chesney」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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