 = Gerard ( archbishop of York ) = 
 
 Gerard ( died 21 May 1108 ) was Archbishop of York between 1100 and 1108 and Lord Chancellor of England from 1085 until 1092 . A Norman , he was a member of the cathedral clergy at Rouen before becoming a royal clerk under King William I of England and subsequently his son King William II Rufus . Gerard was appointed Lord Chancellor by William I , and he continued in that office under Rufus , who rewarded him with the Bishopric of Hereford in 1096 . Gerard may have been with the king 's hunting party when William II was killed , as he is known to have witnessed the first charter issued by the new king , Henry I of England , within days of William 's death . 
 Soon after Henry 's coronation Gerard was appointed to the recently vacant see of York , and became embroiled in the long @-@ running dispute between York and the see of Canterbury concerning which archbishopric had primacy over England . Gerard managed to secure papal recognition of York 's claim to jurisdiction over the church in Scotland , but he was forced to agree to a compromise with his counterpart at Canterbury , Anselm , over Canterbury 's claims to authority over York , although it was not binding on his successors . In the Investiture Controversy between the king and the papacy over the right to appoint bishops , Gerard worked on reconciling the claims of the two parties ; the controversy was finally resolved in 1107 . 
 Gerard was a patron of learning , to the extent that he urged at least one of his clergy to study Hebrew , a language not commonly studied at that time . He himself was a student of astrology , which led to suggestions that he was a magician and a sorcerer . Partly because of such rumours , and his unpopular attempts to reform his cathedral clergy , Gerard was denied a burial inside York Minster after his sudden death in 1108 . His successor as archbishop subsequently had Gerard 's remains moved into the cathedral church from their initial resting place beside the cathedral porch . 
 
 = = Early life and career = = 
 
 Gerard was the nephew of Walkelin , Bishop of Winchester , and Simon , Abbot of Ely . His parents were Osbert and Anna , and his brother Peter was also a royal clerk . Where he was born and raised is unknown ; he is documented as cantor of Rouen Cathedral , and precentor of the same cathedral , although the date of his appointment to either office is unrecorded . By 1091 he had become archdeacon of Rouen . He served in the royal chancery under successive kings of England , William I and William II . 
 
 = = Bishop of Hereford = = 
 
 Gerard was appointed Lord Chancellor of England in 1085 , and was present at William I 's deathbed in 1087 . He continued as Chancellor to William Rufus until 1092 ; what precipitated his loss of office is unclear . He retained the king 's trust , for Rufus employed him in 1095 along with William Warelwast on a diplomatic mission to Pope Urban II regarding Archbishop Anselm receiving the pallium , the sign of an archbishop 's authority . Rufus offered to recognise Urban as pope rather than the Antipope Clement III in return for Anselm 's deposition and the delivery of Anselm 's pallium into Rufus ' custody , to dispose of as he saw fit . The mission departed for Rome in February 1095 and returned by Whitsun with a papal legate , Walter the Cardinal Bishop of Albano , who had Anselm 's pallium . The legate secured Rufus ' recognition of Urban , but subsequently refused to consider Anselm 's deposition . Rufus resigned himself to Anselm 's position as archbishop , and at the king 's court at Windsor he consented to Anselm being given the pallium . 
 Although not yet ordained , Gerard was rewarded with the Bishopric of Hereford , and he was consecrated by Archbishop Anselm on 8 June 1096 ; his ordination as a deacon and priest had taken place the previous day . He assisted at the consecration of St Paul 's Cathedral in London on 9 June 1096 . He may have been a member of the hunting party in the New Forest on 2 August 1100 when Rufus was killed , as he witnessed King Henry I 's coronation charter – now known as the Charter of Liberties – three days later at Winchester , close by the New Forest . Gerard was present at Henry 's coronation that same day , along with Maurice , Bishop of London . Henry was probably crowned by Maurice , but the medieval chronicler Walter Map states that Gerard crowned Henry in return for a promise of the first vacant archbishopric . Gerard may have assisted Maurice in the coronation ceremony . 
 
 = = Archbishop = = 
 
 Gerard became Archbishop of York in December 1100 . No source mentions him being invested by the king , but as Anselm urged Pope Paschal II to give Gerard his pallium , which he would have been unlikely to do if Gerard had been invested by Henry , that possibility seems remote . At Whitsun in 1101 King Henry I , with Anselm 's support , deprived Ranulf Flambard , Bishop of Durham , of the lands of the see of Durham , because Ranulf had defected to Henry 's elder brother Robert Curthose , who also claimed the English throne . Gerard then deposed Ranulf from his bishopric . Soon after his translation to York , Gerard began a long dispute with Anselm , claiming equal primacy with the Archbishop of Canterbury and refusing to make a profession of canonical obedience to Anselm , part of the long Canterbury – York dispute . At the 1102 Council of Westminster , Gerard reportedly kicked over the smaller chair provided for him as Archbishop of York , and refused to be seated until he was provided with one as large as Anselm 's . He travelled to Rome in 1102 to receive his pallium from the pope , to whom he presented the king 's side against Anselm in the controversy surrounding investitures . The pope decided against the king , but Gerard and two other bishops reported that the pope had assured them that the various papal decrees against the lay investiture of bishops would not be enforced . Their claim was denied by Anselm 's representatives and the pope , who excommunicated Gerard until he recanted . 
 Gerard secured papal recognition of York 's metropolitan see for the Scots . He subsequently consecrated Roger as Bishop of Orkney , but refused to consecrate Thurgot to the see of St Andrews because Thurgot would not recognise the primacy of York . Gerard gave generously to the monasteries of his diocese ; the medieval chronicler Hugh the Chantor stated that Thomas II , Gerard 's successor , accused Gerard of having dissipated the diocese 's endowment . King Olaf I of Man and the Isles wrote to " G " , Archbishop of York , asking for the consecration of " our bishop " by York , but it does not appear to have taken place under Gerard or his successor . 
 During the first four years of Henry 's reign Gerard was one of the king 's chief advisors , along with Robert of Meulan , Count of Meulan in Normandy and later Earl of Leicester . Gerard was one of Henry 's greatest supporters among the bishops during the Investiture Crisis . In 1101 Gerard witnessed a treaty between Henry and Robert , the Count of Flanders , which sought as far as possible to distance Robert from any future conflict between Henry and his elder brother Robert Curthose , or between Henry and King Philip I of France . After Gerard 's return from Rome he restored Ranulf Flambard to the see of Durham . In 1102 Anselm refused to consecrate three bishops , two of whom had received investiture from the king ; Gerard offered to consecrate them instead , but all except one refused . From 1105 onwards Gerard slowly began to embrace the papal position on investiture of bishops , which opposed laymen investing bishops with the symbols of episcopal authority . As part of his change of position , Gerard withdrew from court to care for his diocese . Towards the end of 1105 Gerard attempted to join Bohemond of Antioch , who was assembling a crusading force in France , but it appears that King Henry prevented Gerard 's departure . In 1106 Gerard wrote to Bohemond that he was still preparing to go on crusade , but he never did . At about the same time , Gerard was working to find a mutually acceptable resolution to the Investiture Crisis , writing a number of letters and other works supporting Anselm 's and the pope 's position . By 1107 King Henry and Anselm had reached an agreement settling the dispute . 
 Gerard agreed to a compromise on the matter of obedience to Anselm . King Henry proposed that Anselm accept a witnessed oath from Gerard that he would remain bound by the profession he made to Anselm on his consecration as Bishop of Hereford . Gerard made this oath at the Council of Westminster in 1107 . It was a victory for Canterbury , but not a complete one , as Gerard avoided making a written profession , and it was specific to Gerard , not to his office . Gerard continued to oppose Anselm 's attempts to assert Canterbury 's primacy , but the two were reconciled before Gerard 's death . 
 Gerard also had an uneasy relationship with his cathedral chapter , after attempting to reform his cathedral clergy by forcing them to give up their wives and concubines and become ordained priests . He wrote to Anselm in 1103 complaining of the intransigence of his clergy and envying Anselm 's better relations with Canterbury 's chapter , which was composed of monks instead of the secular canons who made up York Minster 's chapter . In this correspondence , Gerard complained that some of the York canons refused to be ordained as priests , thereby hoping to avoid taking the vow of celibacy . He also accused them of accepting prebends but refusing to live or work at the cathedral , and of focusing on a narrow legal definition of celibacy without actually being celibate . The canons ' argument was that they were only required not to maintain women in their own houses , but they were not forbidden to visit or entertain women in houses belonging to others . It was not only Gerard who complained about the relationship between him and his canons ; the latter accused Gerard of impoverishing York by making gifts of lands to others . 
 
 = = Death and legacy = = 
 
 Gerard was an associate of the anonymous author of the Quadripartitus and the Leges Henrici Primi , two 12th @-@ century law books . The medieval chronicler William of Malmesbury charged Gerard with immorality , avarice and the practice of magic . Gerard encouraged at least one of his clergy to study Hebrew , a language not normally studied at the time . Some chroniclers considered his ownership of a Hebrew psalter to be disturbing , seeing it as a sign of heresy or secret Judaism . Among the sins that Malmesbury imputed to him was the study of Julius Firmicus Maternus , a late Roman astrologer , every morning , which to Malmesbury meant that Gerard was a sorcerer . Malmesbury further claimed that Gerard was " lewd and lustful " . In Gerard 's favour , Anselm regarded him as learned and highly intelligent . Some verses composed by Gerard survive in unpublished form , now in the British Library manuscript collection as part of manuscript Cotton Titus D.xxiv. A collection of his letters circulated in the mid @-@ 12th century , part of a bequest made to Bec Abbey in 1164 by Philip de Harcourt , the Bishop of Bayeux , but it is now lost . 
 Gerard died suddenly on 21 May 1108 , at Southwell , on his way to London to attend a council . His body was found in an orchard , next to a book of " curious arts " , his copy of Julius Firmicus . His canons refused to allow his burial within his cathedral , but their hostility probably owed more to Gerard 's attempts to reform their lifestyle than to his alleged interest in sorcery . Gerard was at first buried beside the porch at York Minster , but his successor , Thomas , moved the remains inside the cathedral church . 
 
 