William of St Calais, Bishop of Durham († 1096)

Born in Normandy, he became a cleric in Bayeux and then embarked upon a more austere life in the monastery of St Calais in Maine, where he met his father who had just become a monk after leaving his wife. William became a prior of the monastery before being appointed Abbot of St Vincent in Le Mans in 1078 with the support of William the Conqueror. Having been appointed Bishop of Durham in 1080, he was consecrated in Gloucester in 1081. He introduced Benedictine monks from Jarrow and Monkwearmouth to his diocese. He was an advisor to William the Conqueror and then to his son William Rufus. He found himself caught up in a conspiracy against the latter in 1088; he made honourable amends, but refused to be judged by other ecclesiastical peers. He returned to favour in 1091, being restored to his bishopric, and began the reconstruction of his cathedral. He died in Windsor in January 1096, again at odds with the king.