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Reginald fitzJocelin (sometimes Reginald Italus, Richard the Lombard, or Reginald Lombardus) was previously Bishop of Bath before being elected Archbishop of Canterbury on November 27, 1191 but he died before being consecrated, dying on 26 December 1191.^[1]

Stained glass window from Canterbury Cathedral depicting Thomas Becket, who Reginald served briefly.

Reginald was the son of Josceline de Bohon, bishop of Salisbury, although he was possibly born before his father became a priest.^[2] Some sources say that he was born while his father was studying law in Italy. His uncle Richard de Bohon was Bishop of Coutances from 1151 to 1180.^[3] He was also related to Robert of Gloucester and Savaric FitzGeldewin, his sucessor at Bath. Reginald's mother may have a member of the family of the counts of Maurienne. He was born and brought up in Italy, which led to his sometimes being referred to as Reginald Italus, Reginald Lombardus or Reginald the Lombard.^[4] He was appointed Archdeacon of Wiltshire by his father before December 8, 1161, when he signs a document as archdeacon.^[5] He served in Thomas Becket's household after Becket became archbishop, and by June of 1164 was serving Thomas' interests in France at both the court of King Louis VII and the papal Curia. It was probably in November of 1164 that Louis named Reginald abbot of the Abbey of Corbeil.^[6]

He probably studied at Paris sometime during 1163 or 1164, with a letter of introduction from Pope Alexander III to Hugues de Champfleury, Bishop of Soissons who was the chancellor of Louise VII. Reginald, however, did not complete his studies for the title of master, for he was in service with the king of England by 1167.^[4] He served Henry II as a royal messenger to Rome during the crisis with Thomas Becket in 1167.^[2] For the next four years, Reginald would be embroiled in the affair, and with trying to find a diplomatic solution.^[7] While serving Henry, Reginald incured Becket's displeasure enough that Becket called Reginald "that offspring of fornication, that enemy to the peace of the Church, that traitor"^[8] However, John of Salisbury always maintained friendly relations with both Reginald and his father, even though John was a partisan of Becket's.^[3]

Reginald took part in the negotiations in August and September of 1169 that attempted to reach a settlement between Henry and Becket. These negotiations included papal nuncios and most of the Norman bishops and prominent abbots, as well as the royal clerks. However, in the end, the negotiations came to nothing, and led to Becket's calling Reginald a traitor, among other things quoted above.^[9] Reginald was one of the main clerics that worked for King Henry during the dispute with Becket, along with John of Oxford, Richard of Ilchester, and Geoffrey Ridel. Henry's plans to reward the four with bishoprics in late 1170 probably precipitated the final crisis that led to Becket's murder.^[10]

Pope Alexander III confirmed Reginald as Bishop of Wells

Reginald was elected Bishop of Bath in late April of 1173, and was consecrated 23 June 1174.^[11] However, Henry the Young King challenged the election, on the grounds of illegitimacy and an uncanonical election. Reginald went to Rome in the company of Richard of Dover, who had just been elected archbishop of Canterbury, and whom was also facing a challenge from the Young King to his election.^[4] Reginald was confirmed by Pope Alexander III on April 18, 1174^[12] with Walter Map alleging bribery as the only reason the election was confirmed, but Ralph de Diceto states that Reginald swore an oath that he was uninvolved in the death of Becket and that his birth took place before his father became a priest.^[4]

While bishop, he attended the trial of William Longchamp on October 5, 1191 at Loddon Bridge between Reading and Windsor.^[13] Reginald was busy attending the king's councils and the royal court, but also took part in the 1178 mission to Toulouse, led by Cardinal Pierre of San Crisogono, which attempted to deal with the Cathar heretics there. He attended the Third Lateran Council in 1179. During the 1180's, he was more active in the affairs of his diocese, and appears less often in the secular affairs of the kingdom, but in 1189 he took part in the coronation of King Richard I of England. He may have been a unsucessful candidate for the chancellorship of England. However, he was an active bishop, and some 122 acta from his time as bishop survive.^[4] In April of 1191 he was one of the persons selected to arbitrate between the chancellor William Longchamp and Prince John of England.^[14] He built the hospital of St. John in Bath, as well as building extensively at Wells. He also issued a confirmation of the status of the town of Wells.^[4]

Reginald was elected to the Archbishopric of Canterbury on 27 November 1191, but his death on 26 December 1191 prevented his consecration.^[1] He was probably elected because he had supported the monks of Canterbury against their archbishop Baldwin of Exeter in their dispute over the foundation of a church dedicated to Saint Thomas Becket.^[4] He died at Dogmersfield, Hampshire and was buried at Bath.^[12] Before his death, he was admitted as a confrater of Christ Church Priory, Canterbury, and was buried in the habit of a Benedictine monk.^[15] According to a monk of Eynsham, after Reginald's death "he performed miraculous cures for certain weak and sick people." The same source claimed Reginald wore a hair shirt under his episcopal vestments.^[16]

• List of Bishops of Bath and Wells and precursor offices
• List of Archbishops of Canterbury

• Barlow, Frank The Feudal Kingdom of England 1042-1216 4th ed. London:Longman 1988 ISBN 0-582-49504-0
• Barlow, Frank Thomas Becket Berkeley, CA:University of California Press 1986 ISBN 0-520-07175-1
• Bartlett, Robert England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings: 1075-1225 Oxford:Clarendon Press 2000 ISBN 0-19-822741-8
• British History Online Archdeacons of Wiltshire accessed on September 10, 2007
• British History Online Bishops of Bath accessed on September 10, 2007
• Duggan, Charles "Reginald fitz Jocelin (c.1140–1191)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press, Sept 2004 Online Edition, May 2006 accessed November 8, 2007
• Knowles, Dom David The Monastic Order in England: From the Times of St. Dunstan to the Fourth Lateran Council Second Edition Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1976 reprint ISBN 0-521-05479-6
• Powell, J. Enoch and Keith Wallis The House of Lords in the Middle Ages: A History of the English House of Lords to 1540 London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1968
• Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde Handbook of British Chronology 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961
• Warren, W. L. Henry II Berkeley: University of California Press 1973 ISBN 0-520-03494-5

• Archbishops of Canterbury at British History Online
• Archdeacons of Wiltshire at British History Online
• Bishops of Bath at British History Online
• Information on a hospital Reginald founded in Bath