Theobald of Canterbury
Patron of John of Salisbury and Thomas à Becket, Theobald (or Teobald) was an Englishman of Norman descent who became a monk at Bec. After ten years as prior, he became abbot in 1137, and the following year, he was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, in which office he had conflict with pope and king. Neutral in the feud between Stephen and Matilda, Theobald crowned Stephen in 1142, the same year in which the archbishop and the pope (Innocent II) argued over the appointment of William of York as archbishop. In 1148, Theobald attended a synod at Rheims, although Stephen had ordered him to stay in Canterbury. When the king exiled his archbishop, Eugene III, who later appointed Theobald papal legate, placed England under interdict. Theobald again fled England in 1152 after he refused to crown Eustace, Stephen's son, successor to the throne of England. Theobald was a party in the mediation of the Treaty of Winchester between Stephen and Henry of Anjou and crowned the latter Henry II in 1154. Theobald recommended Becket for the post of chancellor. Theobald, who died in 1161, encouraged the study of Roman law in England and wished to emulate his predecessor, Lanfranc.
Karen Rae Keck
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