William of York

William of York, known in his lifetime as William FitzHerbert, was a twelfth-century English churchman who twice occupied the archiepiscopal see of York and was later recognized as a saint. He was the son of Herbert of Winchester, chamberlain and treasurer to King Henry I of England. Writers of the period associate his mother, Emma, with the family of the counts of Blois and thus with King Stephen, though the exact degree of kinship is not firmly established and should not be overstated. William followed an ecclesiastical career at York, becoming a canon of the cathedral church and, by the early 1130s, treasurer of York, a wealthy and politically important office within the northern English church.

After Archbishop Thurstan died in 1140, the chapter of York elected William as his successor in January 1141. The election took place during the civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda, and William’s candidacy was strongly supported by the king. Reforming clergy, including Cistercians and Augustinian canons, contested the result. They charged him with simony, unchastity, and having been imposed on the church by royal power. Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury refused to consecrate him. In 1143 Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester and papal legate—and brother of King Stephen—consecrated William. Papal confirmation remained insecure as successive popes reviewed the case. Bernard of Clairvaux became a determined opponent. In 1147 Pope Eugene III, himself a Cistercian, deposed William and appointed Henry Murdac, abbot of Fountains Abbey, in his place.

William left England and spent several years abroad, including a period in the kingdom of Sicily. The situation changed in 1153 with the deaths of Henry Murdac, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Pope Eugene III. Pope Anastasius IV then restored William to York. In 1154 he returned to his see and was welcomed by large crowds. His second tenure lasted only a few weeks. He fell suddenly ill and died on 8 June 1154. Rumors that he had been poisoned, sometimes said to have been administered in the chalice at Mass, circulated at once but were never proved. He was buried in York Minster.

A cult grew around his tomb as pilgrims reported healings and other miracles. The cathedral community promoted his memory, and in 1226 Pope Honorius III issued a bull of canonization. William’s feast is observed on 8 June. His career illustrates the conflicts of the twelfth-century English church: royal influence versus ecclesiastical liberty, the rising power of the Cistercians, and the developing procedures of papal canonization. He remains especially associated with the city and cathedral of York.