William Warelwast was a Norman cleric and Bishop of Exeter in England. Little is known about his background before 1087, when he appears as a royal clerk for King William II. Most of his royal service to William was as a diplomatic envoy. He was heavily involved in the king’s dispute with Anselm, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
About William Warelwast in brief
William Warelwast was a Norman cleric and Bishop of Exeter in England. Little is known about his background before 1087, when he appears as a royal clerk for King William II. Most of his royal service to William was as a diplomatic envoy. He was heavily involved in the king’s dispute with Anselm, the Archbishop of Canterbury, which constituted the English theatre of the Investiture Controversy. He went several times to Rome as an emissary to the papacy on business related to Anselsm, one of whose supporters, the medieval chronicler Eadmer, alleged that WarelWast bribed the pope and the papal officials to secure favourable outcomes for the king. He may have been present at King William’s death in a hunting accident, and served as a diplomat to king’s successor, Henry I. After the conflict, he was rewarded with the bishopric. He began the construction of a new cathedral at Exeter, and he probably divided the diocese into archdeaconries. He died in 1120, and after his death in 1137 was succeeded by his nephew, Robert, who became the bishop’s steward. He is believed to have been blind after going blind in 1136. He had a nephew, William, who was the bishop’s steward and later became his son-in-law.
He also had a niece, who later became a nun. He appears in a charter from the time of King Stephen, a grandson of William I, but this may be a forgery. It may be that he was awarded land by William I not because he was a royal servant but because he is a relative. The late-medieval writer William Worcester claimed he was related to the king, and may have given him land as a reward for royal service. Warel wast was probably sent as an envoy to Pope Urban II in 1095, when the king was seeking to have the newly appointed archbishop of Canterbury removed from office. He visited the pope with another royal clerk, Gerard, with orders to recognize Urban as pope in return for AnselM’s deposition. But the king may have instructed his envoys to attempt to settle for less, willing to negotiate and settle for a legalate, Walter of Albano, who refused to allow Ansellm’s deposition but refused to accept Urban’s recognition of his rights in the church. The charter itself is insufficient evidence to confidently assert that he served William I. It is possible that the Willelmus referred to in the charter was William II rather than William I; but most such grants were made as a Reward for Royal service.
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