and married him to Albreda, the daughter of his aunt. Baldwin was greatly enriched by the conquest of England. Besides lands in Somerset and Dorset, he had no less than 159 estates in the county of Devon, where he held the office of sheriff. On the fall of Exeter, in 1068, the king left him to keep the city, and to complete the building of the castle. By his wife Albreda, Baldwin had three sons — Richard, who was made earl of Devon by Henry I [see Baldwin of Redvers], Robert, the lord of Brionne, and William; and three daughters. He had also a natural son, Guiger, who became a monk of Bec. A Norman priest in 1101 beheld in a vision Baldwin and his brother, who had both died shortly before, clad in full armour.
[Will. of Jumièges. viii. 37; Orderic. 687. 694, 510; Dugdale's Baronage, i. 254; Monasticon, v. 377.]
BALDWIN (d. 1190), archbishop of Canterbury, was born at Exeter of poor parents. He received an excellent education, both in secular and religious learning, and bore a high character. He took orders, and was made archdeacon by Bartholomew, bishop of Exeter. Monastic in his tastes, Baldwin disliked the state and business which surrounded him as an archdeacon. He resigned his office, and became a monk of the Cistercian abbey of Ford in Devonshire. He entered on his new life with ardour, and within a year was made abbot. His literary work was done either wholly, or at least for the most part, while he held that office. In 1180 he was made bishop of Worcester. While Henry II was at Worcester in 1184, a man of good family, named Gilbert of Plumpton, was tried for forcibly carrying off an heiress, and was condemned to death. It was generally believed that many of the charges brought against Gilbert were false, and were included in the indictment to secure his condemnation. Baldwin was strongly urged to interfere to save him. He determined to do so, but was only just in time. The rope was actually round Gilbert's neck, when the bishop galloped up and called to the executioners to loose him, saying that their work might not be done on that day, for it was Sunday and a festival. A pardon was afterwards obtained from the king. The incident illustrates the bishop's character, which was at once wavering and impulsive. Baldwin was elected archbishop in the same year. His election was disputed; for the monks of Christ Church chose the abbot of Battle, while the bishops of the province chose Baldwin. The monks refused to agree in the choice of the bishops, and proceeded to elect Theobald, cardinal-bishop of Ostia, The king interfered, and after some difficulty persuaded the monks to choose the bishop of Worcester, on the express condition that the claim of the bishops to elect should be disallowed. It was probably during the course of this dispute that Baldwin was employed by the king in a negotiation with Rhys ap Gruffydd, prince of South Wales. The new archbishop is described by his friend, Giraldus Cambrensis, as a gloomy and nervous man. gentle, guileless, and slow to wrath, very learned and religious. This character, as Dr. Stubbs has shown (Epp. Cantuar., Introd., Rolls Series), is perhaps not inconsistent with 'the errors of temper, harshness, arbitrary severity, and want of tact' which he manifested in the long dispute with his convent; for he was weak of purpose and of an impulsive nature. His religious character is illustrated by the saying that, of the three archbishops, 'when Thomas came to town, the first place to which he went, was the court, with Richard it was the farm, with Baldwin the church.' Pope Urban III, who was his enemy, addressed him in a letter as 'the most fervent monk, the zealous abbot, the lukewarm bishop, the careless archbishop.' As a simple monk Baldwin was fervent in spirit, and when he was invested with authority he did not exercise it negligently, but in a way which was unwelcome to the pope.
The privileges granted by the predecessors of Baldwin made the monks of Christ Church practically independent of the archbishop. Fresh dignity was conferred upon their convent by the martyrdom of St. Thomas. Over the large revenues of their church its titular ruler had no control. His claim on their obedience was disregarded, and he was looked upon by the chapter either as the instrument of their will, or as a stranger whose interests were different from their own. The house was no mere monastic foundation. The monks, as the congregation of the metropolitan church, cast off the bondage of monastic discipline. Princely hospitality and luxurious living reigned within the monastery. Trains of servants waited on the brethren and consumed the revenues of the house. While the archbishop had scanty means of rewarding his clerks and officers, he saw the community of which he was the nominal head indulging in lavish expenses. The independence of the convent was grievous to Baldwin as archbishop, and its luxury disgusted him as a Cistercian. When he was received by the monks, he expressed a hope that he and they would be one 'in the Lord.' His course of action was not such as was likely to promote unity. He determined to
