Bishop Gilbert Foliot and His Administration in the Dioceses of Hereford and London

This thesis studies the diocesan administration of Gilbert Foliot (c.1100 - 1187), Benedictine monk, abbot of Gloucester (1139-1148) and bishop of Hereford (1148-1163) and London (1163-1187). Through the case of Gilbert, it discusses bishops’ relationships with their networks of connections and analyses various aspects and developments of diocesan administration in twelfth-century England including clerical education, employment of educated clergy, expansion of episcopal households, the development of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and increasingly complex management of cathedral chapter, religious communities, and diocesan clerics compared to previous centuries. By studying Gilbert’s career as ecclesiastical administrator, this thesis demonstrates that Gilbert Foliot’s active administration and his policies provide us with a valuable and detailed case-study of an educated English bishop. His ideas and policies influenced the development of his dioceses and had an evident impact on the development of the English church, revealing how an ecclesiastical administrator improved the situation of his dioceses and shifted his policies in his administration to follow new trends in the development of the English church.