Herman (bishop)

Herman[lower-alpha 1] (died 1078) was a medieval cleric who served as the Bishop of Ramsbury and of Sherborne before and after the Norman conquest of England. In 1075, he oversaw their unification and translation to Salisbury (then at Old Sarum).[2] He died before the completion of the new cathedral.

For other bishops of this name, see Herman (name).

Herman
Bishop of Salisbury
Province	Canterbury
Appointed	1075
Term ended	20 February 1078
Successor	Osmund
Orders
Consecration	c. 1045
Personal details
Died	20 February 1078
Denomination	Roman Catholic Church
Previous post	Bishop of Ramsbury Bishop of Sherborne

Herman was a native of Flanders[3] (Lotharingia).[1] As chaplain of Edward the Confessor, he was named Bishop of Ramsbury shortly after 22 April 1045. He visited Rome in 1050, where he attended a papal council with his fellow English bishop Ealdred.[4] He was named abbot of Malmesbury Abbey by King Edward in 1055[5] and planned to move his seat there as well,[6] apparently in the hope of increasing the income from his poor see.[7] The king revoked this position after three days, however, when the monks and Earl Harold objected.[6]

Herman then abandoned Ramsbury to the administration of Ealdred and traveled to the continent to become a monk at the abbey of St Bertin at Saint-Omer.[5] He returned three years later when the bishopric of Sherborne fell vacant; he was elected, faced no opposition from Earl Harold,[5] and resumed administration of Ramsbury around 1058 or 1059.[1] He later moved the see to the royal fortress at Salisbury.[8] Approval for this translation and the unification of his sees was given at the council held at London between 1074 and 1075.[1]

Herman was a patron of Goscelin of Saint-Bertin, a noted medieval historian and musician.[9]

Herman died on 20 February 1078.[8]

Notes

1. Or Hereman;[1] Latin: Hermannus or Herimannus

Citations

1. British History Online Bishops of Salisbury Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine accessed on 30 October 2007
2. He was sometimes called the "Bishop of Wiltshire".
3. William of Malmesbury, Gesta Pontificum Anglorum, § 83 cap.6: Regnabat iam tunc Edwardus, qui Hermanno capellano suo, natione Flandrensi, continuo pontificatum donandum putauit.
4. Smith "Court and Piety" Catholic Historical Review p. 574
5. Royal Berkshire History. "Herman (d. 1078)". Nash Ford Publishing, 2005.
6. Dolan, John Gilbert. "Malmesbury" in the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), Vol. IX. Encyclopedia Co. (New York), 1913.
7. Burton, Monastic and Religious Orders, pp. 14–15.
8. Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 222
9. Williams English and the Norman Conquest pp. 134–135

References

• Burton, Janet (1994). Monastic and Religious Orders in Britain: 1000–1300. Cambridge Medieval Textbooks. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-37797-8.
• British History Online Bishops of Salisbury accessed on 30 October 2007
• Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
• Smith, Mary Frances; Fleming, Robin; Halpin, Patricia (2001). "Court and Piety in Late Anglo-Saxon England". The Catholic Historical Review. 87 (4): 569–602. doi:10.1353/cat.2001.0189. JSTOR 25026026.
• Williams, Ann (2000). The English and the Norman Conquest. Ipswich: Boydell Press. ISBN 0-85115-708-4.

External links

• Herman 2 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bertwald (bishop)	Bishop of Ramsbury 1045–1055	Succeeded by Ealdred (administrator)
Preceded by Ealdred (administrator)	Bishop of Ramsbury 1058–1075	United and translated to Salisbury
Preceded by Ælfwold II	Bishop of Sherborne 1058–1075
New title	Bishop of Salisbury 1075–1078	Succeeded by Osmund