Roger Norreis

Roger Norreis (died between 1223 and 1225) was Abbot of Evesham in England. He was a controversial figure, installed in several offices against opposition. In his appointment to Evesham, he was accused of immoral behaviour and failing to follow monastic rules. In 1202, Norreis became embroiled in a dispute with his monks and his episcopal superior the Bishop of Worcester; litigation and argumentation lasted until his deposition in 1213. He was then appointed prior of a subsidiary monastic house of Evesham, but was deposed within months, then re-appointed to the office five years later.

Norreis has been described by modern historians as being unsuited for the religious positions to which he was appointed and by one of being completely unsuitable to hold any kind of spiritual role. Nevertheless, even his most severe contemporary critic, Thomas of Marlborough, one of his own monks at Evesham, conceded that Norreis was energetic, entertaining, and enterprising; during his time as abbot of Evesham Abbey he managed to complete the crossing tower of the monastic church.

Roger Norreis died between 1223 and 1225.

Background and early career

Norreis was a native of northern England and his family was probably of Norse origin. when he became a monk is unknown. and in that role was sent by the cathedral chapter to King Henry II of England to plead their case against Baldwin of Forde, the Archbishop of Canterbury. playing on the Latin word for sewer, necessaria.

Prior and abbot

King Henry died on 6 July 1189 and his son Richard I was crowned on 3 September. The succession of a new monarch eventually allowed a truce in the dispute between the Canterbury monks and their archbishop, as Henry had been a supporter of the archbishop's scheme. The agreement came at a council held by Richard in late November 1189 at which the monks agreed to let the king settle the dispute over the Hackington project if the archbishop would withdraw Norreis's appointment. Norreis's fellow monks considered him a traitor to their cause, and his reputation was that of someone with few morals. He was also known for ingratiating himself with those in power, A further offence was his habit of wearing secular clothing rather than the monastic habit prescribed by the Benedictine Rule. who wrote much of the history of Evesham known as the Chronicon Abbatiae de Evesham. Thomas's account of Norreis's rule is biased against the abbot

Early in his tenure Norreis appears to have been somewhat circumspect and did not greatly annoy his monks. The change appears to have happened around 1195, when the monks are first recorded as appealing to higher authority. Because Evesham had traditionally claimed to be exempt from episcopal oversight by the see of Worcester, in which it was located, the monks could only appeal to the papacy or to a papal legate. Hubert Walter, the Archbishop of Canterbury after Baldwin, held a legateship for England until July 1195 and so the monks appealed to him. Walter forced Norreis to make some compromises with his subordinates, but the truce did not last long, and the monks once again complained of their treatment. They were visited by the new Bishop of Worcester John of Coutances some time between 1196 and 1198, but Norreis succeeded in avoiding any severe sanctions by offering gifts to the bishop. The monks again appealed to Walter in about 1200, but between the archbishop's preoccupation with political affairs and Norreis's promises to reform, no solid changes occurred. Between early September and mid-October the dispute was heard by three ecclesiastical tribunals; Mauger was supported by Eustace, Bishop of Ely, and Giles de Braose, Bishop of Hereford. The monks and Norreis then obtained the right for their case to be heard by papal judge-delegates, but Mauger objected to the fact that the appointed judges were all Benedictine monks, Norreis could not repay this sum and for a while was in danger of being imprisoned, but he managed to leave Rome without suffering the fate of one of his companions who was detained for the debt and died while imprisoned.

With the question of the episcopal exemption decided in Evesham's favour, the alliance between Norreis and his monks dissolved. The monks again complained of their abbot's behaviour to the new papal legate, John of Sancta Maria. Norreis gave gifts to the legate's nephew, stating in the Chronicon that "without them [the servants] we cannot live". clothes, and other necessities. The liturgy was not being performed according to the monastic rule because the monks lacked the proper clothing. Charity to the poor had ceased, the monastic buildings were dilapidated, and the monks were forced to beg for their needs. The legate found that the abbot was living well, wearing non-monastic clothes, and enjoying the company of young women in his dwelling, while his monks suffered. by the papal legate in 1213. through the influence of the papal legate Pandulf Verraccio. He was buried at Penwortham. Even Thomas of Marlborough noted that Norreis was energetic, entertaining, and full of enterprise.