Title: Archbishop of Canterbury

Alternate names/spellings:

Dates: 1005 - 1089 (Dates are approximate. ) 

Lanfranc was born around 1005 in Pavia, northern Italy where he was educated in the liberal arts before moving to France and Normandy to work as a teacher at Avranches (1039) and then Bec Abbey (1042) where he opened a school. He was appointed Abbott of St. Stephen’s in Caen in 1063 and Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070 by William the Conquerer. Lanfranc played an important role in the reorganization of the English Church after the Norman Conquest, by appointing Norman church leaders to high positions and subjecting York to the authority of Canterbury. His role in the politics of England continued with the uncovering of a plot to kill William Rufus and securing the crown for him. He died of fever in 1089. TLM