Lanfranc

Type Figure Region England Time c. 1005–1089 Also known as Lanfranc (of Pavia)、Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury

An Italian-born Benedictine scholar and church leader, he served as abbot of the Caen monastery and was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by William…

Timeline

c. 1005–1042Pavia · PaviaLanfranc was born in Pavia, Italy, where he studied law and theology, later going to Normandy in France to teach at the Abbey of Bec, where he trained outstanding scholars such as Anselm, establishing his position as an important medieval intellectual.
1066–1070Caen · CaenTrusted by William, Duke of Normandy, he became abbot of the Abbey of Saint-Étienne in Caen and participated in Norman church affairs. After the conquest of England, William invited him to oversee the integration of the English church, paving the way for his appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury.
1070–1089Canterbury · CanterburyHe became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070, replacing the deposed Anglo-Saxon archbishop, and promoted the Normanization of the church and reform of clerical discipline. In his later years he mediated between royal and ecclesiastical authority; he died in May 1089, and his successor Anselm was not appointed until 1093.

Sources

Lanfranc, De Corpore et Sanguine Domini — Lanfranc
William of Malmesbury, Gesta Pontificum Anglorum — William of Malmesbury