Gisa
| Gisa | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Wells | |
 |
|
| Elected | January 1060 or January 1061 |
| Term ended | 1088 |
| Predecessor | Duduc |
| Successor | John of Tours |
| Other posts | royal chaplain |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 15 April 1061 by Pope Nicholas II |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lorraine |
| Died | 1088 |
| Buried | Wells Cathedral |
Gisa (also spelt Giso; died 1088) was Bishop of Wells from 1060 to 1088.
Gisa was born in Lorraine, probably the village of St Trond in modern Belgium, and was among a number of foreign churchmen brought to England by the last Anglo-Saxon king, Edward the Confessor. At first he held the position of king's chaplain, but in January 1060 or possibly January 1061 he was elected to become Bishop of Wells. Pope Nicholas II consecrated him on 15 April 1061 in Rome. He went to Rome for consecration because the current Archbishop of Canterbury was Stigand, who successive popes had excommunicated for various irregularities, and traveled in company with another bishop Walter of Lorraine, the Bishop of Hereford-elect and Tostig Godwinson. The Vita Edwardi says that he was "most suitably and excellently trained."
On Gisa's arrival in the see he found the church there quite poor. He constructed cloisters to the north of Wells Cathedral and communal buildings to the south for the canons. He ordered the canons to live together under a rule, but exactly which rule it was is unknown. After the Conquest, he introduced the veneration of new saints into his cathedral, as well as setting up an archdeacon in the diocese for the first time He also wrote a history of the church. He worked to restore lands formerly held by the bishop or cathedral that had been unjustly acquired by others.
Gisa obtained land grants for the upkeep of the church and canons from King Edward the Confessor and later king's Harold Godwinson and William I of England. He is mentioned many times in the Domesday Book as the holder of land for the see, and was notorious for acquiring land throughout his bishopric. The only surviving writ of Harold's issued while Harold was king dealt with Giso's rights as bishop, and was addressed to Abbot Æthelnoth of Glastonbury, the sheriff of Somerset, and the thegns of Somerset.
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