Baldwin of Forde or Ford was Archbishop of Canterbury between 1185 and 1190. The son of a clergyman, he studied canon law and theology at Bologna. He was tutor to Pope Eugene III’s nephew before returning to England to serve successive bishops of Exeter. After becoming a Cistercian monk he was named abbot of his monastery at Forde and subsequently elected to the episcopate at Worcester. Baldwin died in the Holy Land while participating in the crusade.
About Baldwin of Forde in brief
Baldwin of Forde or Ford was Archbishop of Canterbury between 1185 and 1190. The son of a clergyman, he studied canon law and theology at Bologna. He was tutor to Pope Eugene III’s nephew before returning to England to serve successive bishops of Exeter. After becoming a Cistercian monk he was named abbot of his monastery at Forde and subsequently elected to the episcopate at Worcester. As a bishop, Baldwin came to the attention of King Henry II of England, who was so impressed he insisted that Baldwin become archbishop. Baldwin died in the Holy Land while participating in the crusade; his long-running dispute with his clergy led one chronicler to characterise Baldwin as more damaging to Christianity than Saladin. In 1178 he was recommended to Pope Alexander as a possible candidate for a cardinalship, but this never occurred. Although he impressed Henry II by intervening in a secular case to prevent a hanging on a Sunday, Baldwin was determined to continue writing even after his election to the see of Canterbury in December 1184. His writings can be dated only to his time as bishop, except for one sermon that was translated into English after it was let be known that Baldwin was translated from Worcester to Canterbury in 1180. He wrote theological works and sermons, some of which have survived. He also wrote De sacramento altaris, which was one of the tracts written during the Becket controversy, and was probably at this time that Baldwin wrote the De sacramenti altaris.
He is buried at St Paul’s Cathedral, Canterbury, with his wife and two children. He died in 1185, and is buried in the church of St Peter and St Paul in Canterbury, where he is buried alongside his wife, Mary, and their two sons, John and John. He had a son, Hugh d’Eu, who later became a nun, with a woman of unknown name who later become a nun. Baldwin was also said to have taught at Exeter, although this is not substantiated by any contemporary record. His father was Archdeacon of Totnes, who made him archdeacon at Totnes in about 1161, after Baldwin’s father’s death. In about 1150 or 1151 Pope EugeneIII appointed him tutor to Eugene’s nephew. By 1155 Baldwin seems to have returned to England, and joined the household of Robert of Chichester, Bishop of Exter. He received a letter from John of Salisbury in 1167, complaining about Bartholomew’s conduct during theBecket controversy. He objected to Becket’s excommunication of a number of noblemen and clergy for opposing his cause. Baldwin’s objection was not so much that they were excommunicated, but that no warning had been given that such an action was contemplated. He often acted as a judge-delegate for the papacy, hearing cases that had reached the Roman Curia and been remanded to local experts for decision. He served as joint papal judge in a dispute between Malisis and Josceline de Bohon.
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This page is based on the article Baldwin of Forde published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 14, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
