Henry of Poitiers

Henry of Poitou (died c. 1149) - not to be confused with Henry of Antioch (c. 1217 - c. 1276) who was also known as Henry of Poitou - thought to be the son of William VII of Poitou. Henry was an ecclesiastic, and, according to the Peterborough Chronicle, held a number of titles throughout his career. He was a sworn witness attesting to the consanguinity of William Clito and Sybilla of Anjou, which led to the annulment of their marriage in 1124 by Pope Calixtus II. Ecclesiastical Career Henry's ecclesiastical career was complex, and spanned both England and what is now France. The titles he held across his career were Bishop of Soissons from c. 1087-1092; he then joined the monastic community of Cluny, and being elevated to prior there; he was prior at Souvigny ; he was abbot of Saint-Jean-d'Angély in the early twelfth century; the Archbishop of Besançon for three days; Bishop of Saintes; and was installed as the abbot of Peterborough Abbey by King Henry I of England in 1127. His appointments to the abbacies of Saint-Jean-d'Angély and of Peterborough were the result of his status as a relative of Henry I and William IX, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and to the records of the Angély cartulary. These appointments were not without controversy. He was also a member of the party that travelled with Pope Paschal II to the abbey of Béze and at the consecration of the church of La Charite-sur-Loir, and was said to have been the papal legate to England in 1123. He was also the recipient of a papal bull, written by Calixtus II, in 1123, which directly addressed his position and expected duties as abbot of Saint-Jean-d'Angély. Controversies