Walkelin
WALKELIN (d.1098)
Bishop of Winchester (1070).
Reputed kinsman of William I. Walkelin's brother Simeon was Prior of Winchester before becoming Bishop of Ely.
Walkelin was the first Norman Bishop of Winchester (1070) appointed after deposition of the Anglo-Saxon Stigund, Archbisop of Canterbury. Walkelin moved to replace the Monks with Canons - and the King agreed. However, he had opposition in the form of Lanfrance, Archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Alexander II.
Walkelin was responsible for the construction of a new Cathedral at Winchester (1079 - 1093) to replace the Old Minster. King William I gave Walkelin permission to quarry stone from the Isle of Wight to and cut timber from the Forest of Hempage Wood. The story goes that Walkelin could take as much timber as his carpenters could remove within four days and nights - and so the cunning Bishop employed an army of carpenters and stripped the Forest bare, much to the outrage of William I.
At the Council of Winchester (1097), Walkelin supported William II Rufus of England against his former foe Anselm.
Walkelin was rewarded for his support with the appointment of joint co-regent with Ranulf Flambard when King left England. He was said to have received an order from the King (Xmas day) to send him a large amount of money but Walkelin was unable to pay.
Walkelin died nine days later (3 January 1098) and was buried inside the nave of his new Cathedral.
Log in or register to add and edit wiki articles | Article History
Article added: 2006-09-15 @ 8:12 pm | Last Modified: 2006-09-16 @ 10:50 pm
All text within the Medieval Wiki is available under the terms of the
GNU Free Documentation
License.
Medieval Wiki Version 3.1.2