Robert of Jumièges

Robert of Jumièges
Archbishop of Canterbury
Ruins of the Abbey of Jumièges
Appointed	1051
Term ended	September 1052
Predecessor	Eadsige
Successor	Stigand
Other posts	Abbot of Jumièges Abbey Bishop of London
Orders
Consecration	1044
Personal details
Died	between 1052 and 1055 Jumièges

Robert of Jumièges (sometimes Robert Chambert or Robert Champart; died between 1052 and 1055) was the first Norman Archbishop of Canterbury. He had previously served as prior of the Abbey of St Ouen at Rouen in Normandy, before becoming abbot of Jumièges Abbey, near Rouen, in 1037. He was a good friend and adviser to the king of England, Edward the Confessor, who appointed him Bishop of London in 1044, and then archbishop in 1051. Robert's time as archbishop lasted only about eighteen months. He had already come into conflict with the powerful Godwin, Earl of Wessex, and while archbishop made attempts to recover lands lost to Godwin and his family. He also refused to consecrate Spearhafoc, Edward's choice to succeed Robert as Bishop of London. The rift between Robert and Godwin culminated in Robert's deposition and exile in 1052.

A Norman medieval chronicler claimed that Robert travelled to Normandy in 1051 or 1052 and told Duke William of Normandy, the future William the Conqueror, that Edward wished for him to become his heir. The exact timing of Robert's trip, and whether he actually made it, have been the subject of debate among historians. The archbishop died in exile at Jumièges sometime between 1052 and 1055. Robert commissioned significant building work at Jumièges and was probably involved in the first Romanesque building in England, the church built in Westminster for Edward the Confessor, now known as Westminster Abbey. Robert's treatment by the English was used by William the Conqueror as one of the justifications for his invasion of England.

Robert was prior of the monastery of St Ouen at Rouen before he became abbot of the important Jumièges Abbey in 1037. Jumièges had been refounded under William Longsword, Duke of Normandy. around 940, Its ties with the ducal family were close and it played a role in ducal government and church reform. Robert's alternate surname "Champart" or "Chambert" probably derived from champart, a term for the part of a crop paid as rent to a landlord. Besides evidence that the preceding abbot at Jumièges was a relative, Robert's origin and family background are otherwise unknown. While abbot, Robert began construction of the abbey church, in the new Romanesque style.