Ranulf Flambard (c. 1060 – 5 September 1128) was a medieval Norman Bishop of Durham and an influential government official of King William Rufus of England. Ranulf was the son of a priest of Bayeux, Normandy, and his nickname Flambard means incendiary or torch-bearer, and may have referred to his personality. He started his career under King William I of England, probably in the compilation of the Domesday Book of 1086, as well as being the keeper of the king's seal. On the death of William I, Ranulf chose to serve the new king of England, William Rufus.
Under Rufus, Ranulf continued to hold the king's seal, and also became involved in the financial administration of the kingdom, where he quickly made a name for himself by his novel methods of raising revenue. He was given custody of a number of vacant ecclesiastical offices, administering at one point sixteen vacant bishoprics or abbeys. His many duties have led to him being considered the first Chief Justiciar of England. During Rufus's reign, Ranulf supervised the construction of the first stone bridge in London and oversaw the construction of the king's hall at Westminster. In 1099 he was rewarded with the bishopric of Durham.
On the death of Rufus in 1100, Ranulf was imprisoned in the Tower of London by Rufus' successor Henry I of England. Ranulf was a convenient scapegoat for the financial extortions of Rufus's reign. He became the first prisoner to escape from the Tower and went into exile in Normandy with Rufus's and Henry's older brother Robert Curthose, the Duke of Normandy. Ranulf became a leading advisor to Robert, and assisted in his unsuccessful invasion of England, an attempt to oust Henry from the throne. The brothers reconciled, but although Ranulf was restored to office he spent the next few years in Normandy, returning only after Henry had defeated Robert at the Battle of Tinchebray. Ranulf subsequently retired from political life, with only occasional appearances in public. He remained active in ecclesiastical affairs, attending councils and working to defend the rights of his see.
Early life
Ranulf was a NormanPoole Domesday Book to Magna Carta pp. 170–171 and the son of Thurstin, a parish priest in the diocese of Bayeux. Ranulf was probably born about 1060, as he was close to 70 when he died in 1128.Barlow William Rufus pp. 193–205 Originally he worked for Odo of Bayeux, but he soon entered the chancery of King William I, Odo's half-brother. He stood out amongst the other clerks for his intelligence and his good looks.Barlow Feudal Kingdom of England pp. 150–151 His nickname, Flambard, means torch-bearer, incendiary or devouring flame; and may have been given to him for his high-spirited personality.Mason William II p. 75 Orderic Vitalis, a medieval chronicler, records that Robert fitzThurstin gave the nickname to Ranulf, because Robert resented the fact that Ranulf, though of low birth, ordered the nobility around.Barlow William Rufus p. 141 Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury told the pope that the nickname came from Ranulf's cruelty, which Anselm likened to a consuming flame. Orderic went on to claim that Ranulf was "educated from boyhood with base parasites among the hangers-on of the court".Quoted in Turner "Changing Perceptions" Journal of British Studies p. 107
Ranulf acquired the reputation of an able financier and administrator and helped to increase the royal revenues.Chibnall Anglo-Norman England p. 115 He appears to have played an important part in the compilation of the Domesday survey,Chibnall Anglo-Norman England p. 114 perhaps even the main orchestrator of the project.Mason William II pp. 85–86 Domesday Book gives his profession as a clerk and records him holding land in a number of counties. Before the death of the old king he became chaplain to Maurice, Bishop of London, whom he had formerly served in the chancery. Some sources call him "almost illiterate", but this probably meant he was not formally educated in the liberal arts.Chibnall Anglo-Norman England p. 127 His work in the chancery and as an administrator would have required knowledge of Latin. He also served as the keeper of the king's seal from about 1085. Once, while he was travelling in the Thames estuary with the seal, he was captured by pirates. He prevented the capture of the seal by throwing it into the sea.Chibnall Anglo-Norman England p. 133 Although he served William the Conqueror, he does not attest a single genuine charter or writ of William's, which implies he was not a leading servant.Mason "Flambard, Ranulf" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography When King William died and his lands were split between his elder son Robert Curthose, who received Normandy, and the third son, William Rufus, who received England, Ranulf chose to serve Rufus in England.
Work under Rufus
Before the death of William the Conqueror, Ranulf held a prebend in the diocese of Salisbury. Early in the reign of Rufus he held the offices of dean of Christchurch in Twynham, Hampshire and was a prebendary of London and Lincoln.Greenway "Durham: Bishops" Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 2: Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces) He was still keeper of the king's seal, and also may have been in charge of the royal scriptorium.Barlow William Rufus p. 147 He is usually described as the chaplain of Rufus,Lyon Constitutional and Legal History p. 153 but he is also called treasurer and sometimes capitalis justicaiarius.Chrimes Introduction to the Administrative History p. 20 Other times his role is given the title procurator. William of Malmesbury calls him the "manager of the whole kingdom".Quoted in Moore "Ranulf Flambard and Christina of Markyate" Belief and Culture p. 231
At Christchurch, Ranulf reduced the number of canons serving the church from 25 to 13 by not replacing clerks who died. Ranulf kept the revenues that would have gone to the missing canons and used them to rebuild the church.Williams English and Norman Conquest p. 128 Some medieval sources claim that in rebuilding the church at Twynham, he not only demolished the church he was replacing but nine others that were nearby.Dodwell Anglo-Saxon Art p. 233
As chief financial administrator, Ranulf bore the brunt of the chronicler's condemnations for extortion and efforts to increase royal revenues. Besides attempts to increase the efficiency of collection and the rate of taxation, Ranulf created new methods of raising money. One of his new measures in revenue collection came in 1094, when the fyrd, or English militia, was assembled to fight in Normandy against the king's brother Robert Curthose. When all the men had assembled, instead of sending them to Normandy, Ranulf dismissed them, after collecting the 10 shillings that each man had been given by their district for maintenance. Ranulf then spent the money on mercenaries.Huscroft Ruling England p. 66 Ranulf also actively pressed lawsuits, including bringing suit against Anselm on the day of Anselm's consecration as Archbishop of Canterbury.Cantor Church, Kingship, and Lay Investiture p. 63 Another innovation was the attempt to collect a relief, much like the relief due from vassals at the death of an overlord, from the under-tenants of church lands when the church office changed hands.Knowles Monastic Order pp. 612–613 This attempt came at the death of Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester in 1095, when the king sent writs to the free tenants of the bishop, setting the amount of relief owed to the king.Mason William II p. 137 This attempt was not repeated, however.Mason William II pp. 178–179
Ranulf administered for the king a large proportion of the vacant ecclesiastical offices.Huscroft Ruling England p. 99 He personally managed sixteen abbeys or bishoprics.Hollister Henry I p. 381 Eventually he obtained the wealthy see of Durham for himself in May 1099, being consecrated on 5 June 1099.Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 241 He had been the custodian of the see since the death of the previous bishop in early 1096.Barlow William Rufus p. 359 At his consecration, he managed to avoid giving a profession of obedience to Thomas the Archbishop of York, just as his predecessor had done.Vaughn Anselm of Bec and Robert of Meulan p. 329 footnote 83 William of Malmesbury, a medieval chronicler, accused Ranulf of paying 1,000 pounds for the bishopric.Bartlett England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings p. 407 He was given ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Carlisle and Cumbria because his predecessors had done so as bishops of Lindisfarne, but he only exercised this for a short time, as after the accession of Henry I jurisdiction over these areas was transferred to the diocese of York.Rose "Cumbrian Society" Studies in Church History p. 124
It has been suggested that Ranulf may have been the first Justiciar of all England (or chief justiciar),Barlow William Rufus p. 202 although he never held the title and it is not clear if his power was as extensive as Roger of Salisbury in the following reign.Richardson and Sayles Governance of Mediaeval England p. 159 He ran the government of England while Rufus was fighting in Normandy, not only raising money, but issuing writs and judging court cases.Huscroft Ruling England p. 83 William of Malmesbury, in describing Ranulf's financial efforts, said that he "skinned the rich, ground the down the poor, and swept other men's inheritances into his net."Quoted in Huscroft Ruling England pp. 125–123 Orderic said that Ranulf planned to revise the survey of England, almost certainly Domesday Book, and that he planned to use that revised survey to confiscate all excess holdings over a certain amount. If this was really planned, it was never carried out.
Ranulf often worked in concert with Haimo the dapifer, or seneschal, and Urse d'Abetot in carrying out royal judgements. On one occasion, they, along with Robert Bloet the Bishop of Lincoln, reassessed the lands of Thorney Abbey for taxes. On another occasion, they were ordered along with Ralph de Luffa Bishop of Chichester to see that the abbey of Fecamp received custody of a church at Steyning.Stenton English Justice pp. 58–59 Others who often worked with Ranulf were Robert FitzHaimo, Roger Bigod, and Eudo the dapifer. These men are sometimes considered by historians to be the first Barons of the Exchequer.Mason William II p. 23 There are also signs during Ranulf's administration of resident justices in the counties who held courts for the king. Itinerant justices were probably also used to hear pleas that were reserved to the crown.Lyon Constitutional and Legal History pp. 168–169Lyon Constitutional and Legal History pp. 190–191
While administering England for Rufus, Ranulf also supervised construction projects. Under his management, the first stone bridge in London was constructed. Ranulf also built a wall around the White Tower in London, enclosing the inner ward. A new hall at Westminster was also built,Barlow Feudal Kingdom of England pp. 167–168 of which the outside walls of Westminster Hall are still surviving.Crouch Normans caption to plate 22 He started building the church at Christchurch at Twynham, which he had been granted by Rufus. After Rufus' death, the church was confiscated from Ranulf, and building work ceased. The crypts and transepts of the current church, however, date from Ranulf's construction work.Kerr Norman Sites p. 28
Under Henry I