Baldwin of Exeter

Baldwin of Forde
Archbishop of Canterbury
Statue of Baldwin of Forde from the exterior of Canterbury Cathedral
Appointed	December 1184
Term ended	19 November 1190
Predecessor	Richard of Dover
Successor	Reginald fitzJocelin
Other posts	Archdeacon of Totnes Bishop of Worcester
Orders
Consecration	c. 1180
Personal details
Died	19 November 1190 Holy Land
Parents	Hugh d'Eu

Baldwin of Forde or Ford (c. 1125 – 19 November 1190) was Archbishop of Canterbury between 1185 and 1190. The son of a clergyman, he studied canon law and theology at Bologna and was tutor to Pope Eugene III's nephew before returning to England to serve successive bishops of Exeter. After becoming a Cistercian monk he was named abbot of his monastery at Forde and subsequently elected to the episcopate at Worcester. Before becoming a bishop, he wrote theological works and sermons, some of which have survived.

As a bishop, Baldwin came to the attention of King Henry II of England, who was so impressed he insisted that Baldwin become archbishop. In that office, Baldwin quarrelled with his cathedral clergy over the founding of a church, which led to the imprisonment of the clergy in their cloister for more than a year. Baldwin spent some time in Wales with Gerald of Wales, preaching and raising money for the Third Crusade. After the coronation of King Richard I, the new king sent Baldwin ahead to the Holy Land, where he became embroiled in the politics of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Baldwin died in the Holy Land while participating in the crusade; his long-running dispute with his clergy led one chronicler to characterise Baldwin as more damaging to Christianity than Saladin.

Born in Exeter around 1125, Baldwin was the son of Hugh d'Eu, Archdeacon of Totnes, and a woman of unknown name who later became a nun. Gervase of Canterbury's story that he was from an even humbler background has been shown by modern scholarship to stem from bias on the medieval chronicler's part. It is possible that he studied at Bologna in the 1150s with the future Pope Urban III.Robert Warelwast, who was Bishop of Exeter from 1138 to 1155, had sent Baldwin to Italy to study law. Baldwin was also said to have taught at Exeter, although this is not substantiated by any contemporary record. In 1150 or 1151 Pope Eugene III appointed him tutor to Eugene's nephew. By 1155 Baldwin seems to have returned to England, where he joined the household of Robert of Chichester, Bishop of Exeter.