Richard Lionheart and the Episcopate in His French Domains

An absence of administrative records makes recent attempts to place Richard I's reign in the context of "administrative kingship" less likely to succeed for his French possessions than for England. One test of the Lionheart's administration in Normandy, Anjou, Aquitaine, and Gascony is his control over the churches of these provinces, illustrated by his role as count or duke in episcopal elections. This article reveals both Richard I and Henry II controlling episcopal elections in Normandy almost as completely as in England; in Anjou it notes some success at Angers but not at Le Mans or Tours; in Aquitaine it finds occasional but seldom successful attempts to impose Angevin candidates; and in Gascony it uncovers little or no influence. This failure in their southern domains indicates the Plantagenets' inability to construct an adequate administration there. An alliance with bishops might have helped them build a strong government for Anjou and Aquitaine, much as curialist clerics had in England.