Ralph Gubion (died 6 July 1151) was a native Englishman and abbot of St Albans Abbey from 1146 to 1151.
Ralph Gubion | |
|---|---|
| Abbot of St Albans | |
| Elected | 1146 |
| Term ended | 1151 |
| Predecessor | Geoffrey de Gorham |
| Successor | Robert de Gorron |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 6 July 1151 |
Gubion was a native of England,[1] although his surname indicates that his family was likely from Normandy or Brittany.[2] Gubion was a monk at St Albans as well as being a clerk in the household of Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln.[1] Through the intercession of Alexander, Gubion was allowed to be simultaneously a monk at St Albans as well as continuing as Alexander's personal chaplain. Gubion had also served as Alexander's treasurer.[2] He occurs in a charter of the cathedral of Lincoln that is probably dated to the later half of 1147, but this cannot be taken as sure evidence that he was a canon of the Lincoln cathedral chapter.[3] On 8 May 1146 he was elected abbot, and held office until 1150,[1] when he became ill and handed a number of his duties to the prior.[2] He died on 6 July 1151.[1]
While abbot, he was alleged to have abused and tormented the prior of St Albans, Alcuin; eventually Alcuin transferred to Westminster Abbey to escape.[4] Gubion appointed Robert de Gorron, who was the nephew of Gubion's predecessor – Geoffrey de Gorham – as abbot, as the new prior. Gubion also set the finances of the abbey on a firm footing, and obtained favourable privileges for the abbey from Pope Eugenius III.[2]
Gubion was succeeded by the prior, Robert de Gorron. Gubion was noted as a great lover of books.[2]
Citations edit
- ^ a b c d Knowles, et al. Heads of Religious Houses p. 67
- ^ a b c d e Keats-Rohan Domesday Descendants p. 105
- ^ Greenway "Dignitaries and canons whose prebends are unidentified: (ii) Canons for whom no prebend assigned" Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: volume 3: Lincoln
- ^ Knowles Monastic Order p. 475
References edit
- Greenway, Diana E. (1977). "Dignitaries and canons whose prebends are unidentified: (ii) Canons for whom no prebend assigned". Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300. Vol. 3: Lincoln. Institute for Historical Research. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
- Keats-Rohan, K. S. B. (1999). Domesday Descendants: A Prosopography of Persons Occurring in English Documents, 1066–1166: Pipe Rolls to Cartae Baronum. Ipswich, UK: Boydell Press. ISBN 0-85115-863-3.
- Knowles, David (1976). The Monastic Order in England: A History of its Development from the Times of St. Dunstan to the Fourth Lateran Council, 940–1216 (Second reprint ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-05479-6.
- Knowles, David; London, Vera C. M.; Brooke, Christopher (2001). The Heads of Religious Houses, England and Wales, 940–1216 (Second ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-80452-3.