William Warelwast

William Warelwast
Bishop of Exeter
One of the transept towers at Exeter Cathedral, which date from Warelwast's time
Elected	11 August 1107
Term ended	c. 26 September 1137
Predecessor	Osbern FitzOsbern
Successor	Robert Warelwast
Other posts	Archdeacon of Exeter
Orders
Consecration	11 August 1107 by Anselm
Personal details
Died	c. 26 September 1137

William Warelwast (died 1137), was a medieval Norman cleric and Bishop of Exeter in England. Warelwast was a native of Normandy, but little is known about his background before 1087, when he appears as a royal clerk for King William II of England. Most of his royal service to William was as a diplomatic envoy, as he was heavily involved in the king's dispute with Anselm, the Archbishop of Canterbury, which constituted the English theatre of the Investiture Controversy. He went several times to Rome as an emissary to the papacy on business related to Anselm, one of whose supporters, the medieval chronicler Eadmer, alleged that Warelwast bribed the pope and the papal officials to secure favourable outcomes for King William.

Possibly present at King William's death in a hunting accident, Warelwast served as a diplomat to the king's successor, Henry I. After the resolution of the Investiture Controversy, Warelwast was rewarded with the bishopric of Exeter in Devon, but he continued to serve Henry as a diplomat and royal judge. He began the construction of a new cathedral at Exeter, and he probably divided the diocese into archdeaconries. Warelwast went blind after 1120, and after his death in 1137 was succeeded by his nephew, Robert Warelwast.

Little is known of Warelwast's background or family before 1087. Later in life he was involved in founding Augustinian houses of canons, which – according to historian D. W. Blake – implies that he was an Augustinian canon or spent some of his early years in a house of such canons. Several medieval chroniclers hostile to Warelwast, including Eadmer, claim that he was illiterate, but his career suggests otherwise, as it involved the extensive use of written documents. He must also have been an accomplished speaker, given the number of times he was used as a diplomat. He was possibly educated at Laon, where later in life he sent his nephew, Robert Warelwast, to school. Another nephew, William, became the bishop's steward.