Regenbald

Regenbald (sometimes known as Regenbald of Cirencester) His name was a German or French name, which suggests that Regenbald was one of the foreigners who gained favour with King Edward the Confessor.

Service to Edward the Confessor

Regenbald first appears in the historical record in 1050, when he witnesses a charter of King Edward. The Domesday Book of 1086 records him owning at least seven churches, but only two of them have any indication that he performed any ecclesiastical services personally. Another royal reward was the grant to Regenbald of the status, without the actual office, of a bishop. He probably was unable to be promoted to a bishopric, either because he was married or because his style of life was known to be unchaste. as he is styled in a 1062 charter in Latin regis cancellarius, but this does not necessarily mean that there was an official office known as chancellor similar to the later Lord Chancellor's office. Regenbald was probably in charge of Edward's royal clerks and scribes, but his position in the witness lists argues against his holding an actual office, as he is not listed early in the witness lists along with the magnates. Some historians, including David Bates, hold that Regenbald was chancellor, however. Some support for that position is the fact that Domesday Book lists Regenbald as "chancellor". The entire issue of whether Regenbald was a "true" chancellor or not is bound up in the debate amongst medievalists about whether there was a recognisable chancery in England prior to the Norman Conquest. One school of thought, led by Pierre Chaplais, argues that no such office existed prior to the Conquest. Another group argues that there was, and among this group is the historian Simon Keynes. In Regenbald's case, a number of the documents that give him the title "chancellor" either are forgeries or have been altered in the copying process. Others, however, are not easily shown to be spurious.

Besides his scribal duties, Regenbald also served as a royal judge, as he is recorded as passing judgement in a case late in Edward's or early in William's reign, along with Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester, and Æthelwig, Abbot of Evesham. A thirteenth-century source says that he was dean of the church at Cirencester during William's reign. His lands and possessions were confirmed by King William after the Norman Conquest.

Regenbald's lands are recorded in a charter from the reign of King Henry I of England which dealt with the gift of those lands after Regenbald's death. This charter lists a number of estates as owned by Regenbald that were also listed in Domesday Book as Regenbald's, but there are a few other possessions that did not get recorded in Domesday. His estates totalled about 90 hides, although some of the estates were given to him after the Norman Conquest.

Death and legacy

Presumably, Regenbald died either during the reign of William I or during the following reign of William II. Possibly, he was buried at Cirencester, where a stone tomb in the crypt of the Saxon-era church still exists and may be his. Regenbald's brother held land near him in Cirencester. Regenbald had a son named Edward who also held lands in Gloucester.