ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY exercise his office against those beneficed clerks who had wives and others who had succeeded their fathers in their churches." According to WiUiam of Malmesbury Maurice's character was far from morally perfect, though he praises him for his liberality to St. Paul's." He died in 1 107, and was succeeded by Richard de Belmeis, one of the great ministerial prelates of the 1 2th century, whose main interest lay rather in serving his master Henry I on the Welsh marches than in the government of his diocese." In the early years of his episcopate he gave all the revenues of his see to the rebuilding of St. Paul's, but was discouraged by the little headway he made in carrying out his predecessor's great plan.^^ The two great priories of Holy Trinity and St. Bartholomew, both of Austin canons, were founded in his time,*' and probably owed something to the encourage- ment of the bishop, for he founded at Chich in Essex a priory of the same order dedicated to St. Osyth,™ to which he retired to die in 11 27." Richard liberally provided for his kinsmen out of the patronage of the see. His son received the prebend of Newington ; one nephew became Dean of St, Paul's, and two others canons, while another relative was made arch- deacon of either London or Colchester. Shortly before his death he conferred the archdeaconry of Middlesex on his young nephew Richard, who afterwards became bishop." His successor Gilbert, called the Universal, was raised to the episcopate as a very old man, and did ' nothing worthy of note in his bishopric' He died on his way to Rome, probably in 11 34," and for nearly seven years after his death the see was vacant. Robert de Sigillo was appointed bishop by Queen Maud in 1141, after an unsuccessful attempt by one party in the chapter of St. Paul's to secure the election of Abbot Anselm of St. Edmunds.* Two events of some interest took place near the end of Robert's episcopate: in 1148 St. Earconwald's body was translated," and about the same time another house of Austin canons, that of St. Katharine by the Tower, was founded in London.^' Robert died in 1151, and Pope Eugenius III, doubtless acting under the instigation of the empress's party, directed the chapter to choose a man 'clothed in the habit of religion.' They were startled by the suggestion of choosing a monk, but on applying to Rome they obtained an explanation that these words included secular canons as well as regulars. Accordingly they chose Richard de Belmeis the second, during whose episcopate nothing of interest with regard to ecclesiastical history in London has been recorded." In 1 163 Gilbert Foliot, Bishop of Hereford, was translated to the see of London. This raised a new point, as since the Conquest no English bishop had been translated except to one of the metropolitan sees. Ralph de Diceto was sent by the canons to Paris to obtain the pope's sanction for the proposed appointment, which was warmly supported by the king and by Becket, not- " Cal. of Papal Letters, i, 90. ^ Will, of Malmesbury, De Gestit Pontif. (Rolls Ser.), 145. " Diet. Nat. Biog. '^ Will, of Malmesbury, De Gestis Pontif. 146. ^ See article on 'Religious Houses.' ™ See F.C.H. Essex, ii, 157. " Ibid. " Stubbs in R. de Diceto, Op. Hist. (Rolls Ser.), i, p. xxi. " Wharton, Hist, de Epis. Land. 5 1 ; Diet. Nat. Biog. '* See account of St. Paul's, and Stubbs in R. de Diceto, Op. Hist. (Rolls Ser.), i, p. xxiii. Matt. Paris, Chron. Maj. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 183. See article on ' Religious Houses.' " On his personal difficulties see Stubbs in R. de Diceto, Op. Hist, (Rolls Ser.), i, p. xxiv ; Diet. Nat. Biog. I 177 23
