Robert Pullus

Robert Pullen (surname also rendered as Polenius, Pullan, Pullein, Pullenus, Pullus, Pully, and La Poule) (c. 1080 – c. 1146) was an English theologian and official of the Roman Catholic Church, often considered to be one of the founders of Oxford University.

Nothing is known of his early life except that he was of English parentage. The conjecture of an early-20th-century biographer (Williams) that he was born at Poole, Dorsetshire is not supported by any evidence. Other accounts state that he came from Devonshire (specifically Exeter, born around 1080). John of Hexham's continuation of the history of Symeon of Durham, written within half a century of Pullen's death, asserts that king Henry I of England offered him a bishopric which he refused, being devoted to the study of philosophy.

His early education was received in England, but during the troubles which began with the accession of King Stephen in 1135 he seems to have gone to Paris to continue his life of study in peace there. According to other accounts, he completed his education at Paris (at the Sorbonne). In 1133 he began to teach at Oxford, being among the first of the celebrated teachers in the schools which were afterwards organized into the University of Oxford. Multitudes are said to have come to hear him. He opened schools there and taught without exacting fees; he is said to have supported many scholars at his own expense and to have been largely instrumental in fostering the growth of the Oxford schools. If these traditions are true, albeit that they rest on the statements of later writers, it would seem more probable that they happened during the reign of Henry I, when he refused to accept the bishopric offered. He was certainly Archdeacon of Rochester in 1134, and was absent from England for a notable time within the next few years, for at some date prior to 1143 he seems to have been in trouble with his bishop for being absent so long from his duties. This appears from an undated letter of St. Bernard addressed to the Bishop of Rochester, in which the saint makes his excuses for detaining Pullen in Paris "on account of the sound doctrine which is recognized in him." In the same letter he blames the bishop for seizing the archdeacon's goods, and he begs that Pullen may stay longer in Paris where he is necessary. Though Bishop Stubbs (op. cit.) has thrown doubt on the identity of this Archdeacon Robert Pullen with the cardinal Robert Pullus (also called Pullen), the statements of St. Bernard's biographer, William Abbot of Theodoric, and the Oseney Chronicle justify the identification.

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