FITZGERALD
,
DAVID
(d.
1176
),
bishop of S. Davids
,
1148-76
;
son of
Gerald de
Windsor
and
Nest
(q.v.)
, daughter of
Rhys ap Tewdwr
, and uncle to
Giraldus Cambrensis
(q.v.)
. He is first heard of as
archdeacon
of
Cardigan
and a
canon
of
S. Davids
. After the death of
bishop
Bernard
(q.v.)
a conflict arose between the
Welsh canons
, on the one hand, and the
English
and
French canons
, on the other: the former in favour of appointing a
Welshman
as
bishop
, and the latter opposed to such an appointment. A compromise was reached by the election of
David
, for he was of both
Welsh
and
Norman
stock. He was consecrated
bishop
by
archbishop
Theobald
on
19 Dec. 1148
at
Canterbury
, and he undertook to acknowledge the authority of
Canterbury
as a metropolitan see with power over and above
S. Davids
. On
3 June 1162
, along with
Nicholas
,
bishop of Llandaff
, he assisted in the consecration of
Thomas
,
archbishop of Canterbury
; and on
19 May 1163
he was present at the council which
pope
Alexander
III
held at
Tours
, having taxed the clergy to cover his travelling expenses. Some time
between 1148 and 1163
there was a dispute between him and the
bishop of Llandaff
about diocesan boundaries, and
Gilbert
,
bishop of Hereford
, offered his services as
mediator
between them. On
30 Jan. 1164
he signed the
Clarendon Constitutions
. In
1167
he prevailed upon the
lord
Rhys ap Gruffydd
to release his half-brother
Robert
Fitz Stephen
(q.v.)
from prison, where he had been for three years. When, about the beginning of
Oct. 1171
,
Henry
II
came on a pilgrimage to
S. Davids
, the
bishop
invited him to stay with him; the
king
declined his invitation but dined with him. Between
Oct. 1171
and
April 1172
the
king
granted the
bishop
a charter confirming all his possessions according to
Henry
I
's charter to
bishop
Bernard
. On
18 May 1175
he attended the council of
Richard
,
archbishop of Canterbury
, in
London
, before
Henry
II
and his son
Henry
. About the same time a deputation of the
canons of S. Davids
went to
London
to lay twenty-seven charges against their
bishop
before
archbishop
Thomas
, but
David
FitzGerald
met them before they appeared before the
archbishop
and implored them not to proceed further with the matter, promising to restore to them all that he had taken from them. In the same year he completed the transference of the church of
Llanbadarn-fawr, Cards.
, to the
abbey of S. Peters
,
Gloucester
. On
14 March 1176
some of the
canons of S. Davids
went to the council of
Hugh
,
cardinal of S. Angelo
and
legate of
England
, to plead the claims of
S. Davids
to be a metropolitan see, claims which the
bishop
had renounced upon his consecration. On
8 May 1176
he d. intestate, of a
fever
, and was buried at
S. Davids
. He was succeeded as
bishop
by
Peter of Lee
(q.v.)
.
His nephew
Giraldus Cambrensis
gives us a picture of him which is on the whole favourable, although he does criticize him a little for not defending the ancient rights of
S. Davids
. His ‘Life’ (probably written by one of the
canons
) presents us with a less favourable picture.
Bibliography:
-
Vita Davidis
, ii (
Giraldus Cambrensis
,
in eight volumes which
include ; ; ;
; ; ; ;
and
, London Longman, 1861-91
, iii, App. 2);
-
Giraldus Cambrensis
,
De Jure et Statu
(
in eight volumes which
include ; ; ;
; ; ; ;
and
, London Longman, 1861-91
, iii, 154-5),
De Rebus a se Gestis
(
in eight volumes which
include ; ; ;
; ; ; ;
and
, London Longman, 1861-91
, i, 40-1),
Expugnatio Hibernica
(
in eight volumes which
include ; ; ;
; ; ; ;
and
, London Longman, 1861-91
, v, 229);
-
J. C. Davies
,
Episcopal acts and cognate documents
relating to Welsh dioceses 1066-1272
, 1946-48
, i, 270 ff.;
-
Menevia Sacra. Arch. Camb.
, Supplement,
1927
, 38-9;
-
Henry Thomas Payne
,
(Ll.G.C. / N.L.W.)
(N.L.W.).
Author:
Professor Thomas Jones, D.Litt., Aberystwyth
