Herfast

Herfast or Arfast (died 1084) was the first Lord Chancellor of Norman England. He was also Bishop of Elmham and later Bishop of Thetford, after he moved his see there.

Herfast
Bishop of Elmham
then Bishop of Thetford
Appointed1070
Term ended1084
PredecessorÆthelmær, Bishop of Elmham
SuccessorWilliam de Beaufeu, Bishop of Thetford
Orders
Consecration1070
Personal details
Died1084
DenominationRoman Catholic Church
Lord Chancellor
In office
1068–1070
MonarchWilliam I of England
Preceded byfirst in office
Succeeded byOsmund

Life

Born in Normandy, Herfast joined William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest of England and was appointed head of the royal writing office after the Battle of Hastings. He was Lord Chancellor of England from 1068 to 1070.[1]

After serving as Lord Chancellor, he was consecrated Bishop of Elmham in 1070, but about 27 May 1072 he moved the see to Thetford, thus becoming Bishop of Thetford.[2] He had a conflict with the Bury St. Edmunds Abbey, and when the case was brought forward, the Archbishop of Canterbury Lanfranc ruled against Herfast.

He signed the Accord of Winchester in 1072.[3]

Bishop Herfast died in 1084.[3] He was a married bishop, and his sons held land in Norfolk at the time of Domesday Book in 1086.[4]

References

  1. Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 83. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
  2. Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 217 and 243. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
  3. Greenway, Diana E. (1971). Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300. volume 2: Monastic cathedrals (northern and southern provinces). pp. 55–58.
  4. Williams, Ann (2000). The English and the Norman Conquest. Ipswich: Boydell Press. p. 46. ISBN 0-85115-708-4.
Political offices
Preceded by
first Norman Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
1068–1070
Succeeded by
Osmund
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Æthelmær
Bishop of Elmham
1070–1075
Succeeded by
see moved to Thetford
Preceded by
see moved from Elmham
Bishop of Thetford
1075 – 1084
Succeeded by
William de Beaufeu

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