Monks in the World: the Case of Gundulf of Rochester

Summary

During the thirty-one years of his episcopal career, from 1077 to 1108, Gundulf of Rochester worked intimately with two celebrated archbishops of Canterbury, Lanfranc and Anselm, and under the Anglo-Norman kings, William I, William Rufus, and Henry I. He was an active participant in the post-conquest reform of the English Church, a vicar for Canterbury during vacancies and absences, and a moving force in several late-eleventh-century English building projects. Scholars today, however, tend to downplay this aspect of the monk-bishop’s life and refer to Gundulf primarily in terms of his sanctity. Frank Barlow, throughout his work on the English Church, presents glimpses of Gundulf that ernphasise the saintly and monastic aspects of his life. In fact, Barlow openly admires how ‘the saintly Gundulf, who had to act for Anselm during his exiles, managed to cope with Rufus’ outburts’. C. N. L. Brooke, commenting on Gundulf’s rôle in building the Tower of London, admits that ‘this saintly monk seems to us a strange choice’ for such a job.’ Along that same line, R. A..L. Smith, whose 1943 EHR article provides the only detailed account of Gundulf’s life, speaks of him as ‘the saintly prelate who remained . . . aloof from the confused political turmoil of the times’. And, implicitly construing fact from image, the index of David Knowles’ The Monastic Order in England lists Gundulf as ‘Gundulf, St’, even though he was never officially canonised.

This picture of Gundulf accords with and, for the most part, has been drawn from the few contemporary narrative sources that provide direct information about him, Gundulf left no scholarly writings or collection of letters, and because the bishopric of Rochester was relatively insignificant, contemporary chroniclers did not dwell on activities there. Therefore, our main source is the Vita Gundulfi written by a monk of Rochester who knew Gundulf well. The Vita naturally emphasises Gundulf’s monastic vocation and holiness, and it contains the requisite hagiographical criteria that mark the vitae of saintly men: a poignant conversion experience; a close relationship with other holy men – in this case Anselm; a reluctance to assume episcopal or ‘worldly’ office; and constant efforts to maintain the contemplative life. Similarly, other contemporary narrative sources that refer to Gundulf extol and emphasise his sanctity.’