text: robert bloet robert bloet ( sometimes robert ; died 1123 ) was bishop of lincoln 1093 - 1123 and chancellor of england . born into a noble norman family , he became a royal clerk under king william i. under william i 's son and successor king william ii , bloet was first named chancellor then appointed to the see of lincoln . continuing to serve the king while bishop , bloet remained a close royal councillor to william ii 's successor , king henry i. he did much to embellish lincoln cathedral , and gave generously to his cathedral and other religious houses . he educated a number of noblemen , including illegitimate children of henry i. he also was the patron of the medieval chronicler henry of huntingdon , and was an early patron of gilbert of sempringham , the founder of the gilbertine monastic order . early life bloet was a member of the norman noble family that held ivry in normandy . bloet was related in some manner to hugh , the bishop of bayeux from 1015 to 1049 , and hugh 's brother john , who was bishop of avranches from 1060 – 1067 . another relative was richard bloet , abbot of st albans abbey . chancellor and bishop bloet was a royal clerk in the household of king william i of england . he accompanied william i 's son , william rufus , when rufus traveled to england to claim the throne after william i 's death . rufus named bloet as chancellor by january 1091 , but then named bloet to the see of lincoln in march 1093 after the death of remigius de fécamp . bloet was appointed at the same time that anselm was appointed archbishop of canterbury , during a severe illness when rufus feared he was dying . bloet was consecrated at hastings not long before 22 february 1094 , probably on 12 february the day after the dedication of the church at battle abbey . by 19 march 1094 he had been replaced as chancellor by william giffard . prior to bloet 's consecration , the archbishop of york , thomas of bayeux , who had previously had a claim to supervise the see of lincoln , tried to prevent the archbishop anselm 's consecrating bloet . thomas argued that the area of lindsey , which was within the diocese of lincoln , really belonged to the archdiocese of york . the medieval chronicler hugh the chanter alleged that bloet gave rufus £ 3 , 000 to intervene on bloet 's side when thomas attempted to assert york 's claim to lindsey , but another medieval chronicler , henry of huntingdon , who knew bloet well , said that the sum was £ 5 , 000 . this payment secured rufus ' support in the dispute between york and lincoln , which was settled in lincoln 's favour . the sum of £ 5 , 000 was extremely large , eight times what domesday book records as the bishop of lincoln 's annual income . the king gave york the abbeys of selby and st oswald , gloucester in return for the settlement in favour of lincoln . bloet also refused to profess obedience to anselm , but when king william intervened on anselm 's side , bloet made the profession to anselm . bloet was one of the chief administrative officers of the kingdom under william ii , often associated with ranulf flambard , urse d 'abetot , and haimo the dapifer . as a bishop , he moved the newly founded monastery of stow to eynsham instead . this church was considered a proprietary church and the bishops of lincoln retained the right to appoint the abbot and installing the abbot in office . the monks of stow had been established by his predecessor . bloet also gave the manor of to the priory of bermondsey , which became a cluniac priory during rufus ' reign . even after becoming a bishop , bloet continued to witness royal writs , witnessing six of rufus ' writs while bishop , to add to his 11 witnessed writs during his chancellorship . bloet was one of the bishops in 1097 that attempted to persuade anselm when the archbishop was in a dispute with rufus over travelling to rome to consult with the papacy . when anselm refused to be persuaded not to go , the king ordered him to leave the kingdom , with the support of most of the bishops and nobility . under henry i bloet continued to be an advisor to the king even after rufus was succeeded by king henry i , and was a supporter of henry during the rebellion of 1102 . during the rebellion , bloet was sent by king henry to besiege tickhill castle , which surrendered when the king joined bloet with a larger army . when the king and anselm clashed over investiture , the king persuaded bloet to consecrate a number of the king 's abbatial appointments in 1102 and 1103 . throughout henry 's reign , bloet continued to be a trusted councillor , and was often trusted with advising the queen when the king was absent from england . bloet is only recorded as accompanying the king outside england once , in 1114 . he served as a royal justice often , being named by henry of huntingdon as one of the justices who were not restricted to one or a few counties but who served throughout england . during henry 's reign , bloet witnessed 155 royal documents . when the new see at ely was established in 1109 in a former abbey , it was carved out of bloet 's diocese who was compensated for the loss by a grant of land . this grant included the town of in huntingdonshire . he was one of the councillors who urged henry to appoint william of corbeil to the archbishopric of canterbury in 1123 , although bloet died before corbeil was selected . bloet was opposed to the other candidates , as they were monks , and he wanted a non - monk appointed at canterbury . in 1114 , when was vacant , he had also opposed the appointment of a monk to canterbury . during the reign of henry , bloet accepted the supervision of st albans abbey , ruled by his relative richard , when richard objected to the harshness of the archbishop of canterbury and switched the abbey 's obedience to lincoln instead . bloet continued to be a benefactor to albans throughout his episcopate . he doubled the number of canons in the cathedral chapter at lincoln cathedral during his episcopate . he also embellished the newly built lincoln cathedral and gave the cathedral many gifts of objects and lands . most of his surviving episcopal documents concern the consecration of churches in his diocese or the confirmation of donations to religious houses . he also founded a hospital in lincoln dedicated to the holy sepulchre . henry of huntingdon , the medieval chronicler , wrote a letter entitled de mundi where he related a story from right before bloet 's death that bloet felt he had fallen from king henry 's favour . bloet allegedly told huntingdon that the bishop had lost two lawsuits . however , the whole letter is concerned with setting out examples of prominent men who suffered a fall from grace , so possible bias on huntingdon 's part must be kept in mind . there are also records of two legal proceedings involving bloet at the end of bloet 's life , and although bloet lost both cases , neither was a loss of much income or prestige . in one , he was allowed to continue to hold the property , although instead of it being judged as his land alone , the settlement was that bloet held it of st augustine 's abbey in canterbury . the other lawsuit involved bloet 's attempt to hold a manor free of dues owed to westminster abbey , which was settled in the abbey 's favour , although bloet continued to hold the land . nor is there any lessening of the rate of bloet 's witnessing to royal documents . it appears that bloet 's lost lawsuits were decided by other royal justices , and while he may have lost some favour with the king , he did not fall completely out of favour either . death and legacy bloet was a married bishop , and he appointed his son simon as dean of lincoln . it was in bloet 's household that the medieval historian henry of huntingdon was brought up . he died on 10 january 1123 at woodstock , oxfordshire and was buried at lincoln . he had a sudden fit while out riding with king henry and roger of salisbury , the bishop of salisbury , and collapsed in the king 's arms before dying shortly thereafter without absolution , which combined with his style of living led many contemporaries to conclude he was condemned to hell . his last words were " lord king , i am dying " which he uttered right before collapsing into henry 's arms . his entrails were buried at eynsham , but the rest of his body was buried in lincoln cathedral near the southern entrance in front of st. mary 's altar . henry of huntingdon records that noblemen sent their children to be educated at bloet 's household , whether or not they were destined for a career in the church . king henry 's illegitimate son robert of gloucester was educated in bloet 's care . another illegitimate son of henry 's , richard of lincoln , was also in bloet 's household for an education . gilbert of sempringham , who founded the gilbertine order , was also educated in bloet 's household , entering it before bloet 's death and continuing there under bloet 's successor alexander of lincoln . besides educating laymen , bloet educated his own household clergy , including sending some of them to study under ivo , bishop of chartres . he was known for his ostentatious manner of living , and served personally in war when needed . the medieval chronicler william of malmesbury claimed that he hated monks . henry of huntingdon , however , remembered him as handsome , cheerful and affable . earlier in his episcopate , bloet had aided christina of markyate 's family in their attempts to get the religious hermit to marry , at one point giving a judicial judgement that she must marry , which she refused to do . it was only after bloet 's death that christina was able to be consecrated as a recluse at st albans abbey .