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
Elected1146
Term ended1151
PredecessorGeoffrey de Gorham
SuccessorRobert de Gorron
Personal details
Died6 July 1151
Stone marking the 1978 reburial of the remains of Gubion and other Abbots of St Albans at St Albans Cathedral

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

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  1. ^ a b c d Knowles, et al. Heads of Religious Houses p. 67
  2. ^ a b c d e Keats-Rohan Domesday Descendants p. 105
  3. ^ Greenway "Dignitaries and canons whose prebends are unidentified: (ii) Canons for whom no prebend assigned" Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: volume 3: Lincoln
  4. ^ Knowles Monastic Order p. 475

References

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  • 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.