Archbishop Thurstan

Thurstan
Archbishop of York
Elected	August 1114
Term ended	21 January 1140 (res.)
Predecessor	Thomas II
Successor	Waltheof of Melrose
Orders
Ordination	6 June 1115 by Ranulf Flambard
Consecration	19 October 1119 by Pope Callixtus II
Personal details
Born	c. 1070 Bayeux, Normandy
Died	6 February 1140 Pontefract
Buried	Pontefract
Parents	Anger and Popelina

Thurstan or Turstin of Bayeux (c. 1070 – 6 February 1140) was a medieval Archbishop of York, the son of a priest. He served kings William II and Henry I of England before his election to the see of York in 1114. Once elected, his consecration was delayed for five years while he fought attempts by the Archbishop of Canterbury to assert primacy over York. Eventually, he was consecrated by the pope instead and allowed to return to England. While archbishop, he secured two new suffragan bishops for his province. When Henry I died, Thurstan supported Henry's nephew Stephen of Blois as king. Thurstan also defended the northern part of England from invasion by the Scots, taking a leading part in organising the English forces at the Battle of the Standard (1138). Shortly before his death, Thurstan resigned from his see and took the habit of a Cluniac monk.

Thurstan was the son of a canon of St Paul's in London named Anger, Auger or Ansgar, who held the prebend of Cantlers. Another son of Anger, Audoen, was later Bishop of Évreux. Thurstan's mother was named Popelina. Thurstan was born sometime about 1070 in Bayeux, in the Bessin region of Normandy. Before 1104 the father was given the prebend of Cantlers by Maurice, Bishop of London, and the family moved to England.

Early in his career, Thurstan held the prebendary of Consumpta per mare in the diocese of London, and served both William Rufus and Henry I as a royal clerk. At some point in Thurstan's early career, he visited Cluny, where he vowed to become a Cluniac monk later in his life. Thurstan also served Henry as almoner, and it was Henry who obtained Thurstan's election as Archbishop of York in August 1114. He was ordained a deacon in December 1114 and ordained a priest on 6 June 1115 by Ranulf Flambard, who was Bishop of Durham.

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