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People of 1066AD - Bishop Odo

 

Bishop Odo - Norman Landholding

⚜️ Odo of Bayeux — Normandy Holdings (1066)

Odo (c.1030–1097), Bishop of Bayeux, half-brother of Duke William. His continental position derived entirely from his ecclesiastical office.1

1. Bishopric of Bayeux

Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Bayeux

  • Appointed bishop: 1049 by Duke William — his sole Norman holding.1
  • Temporalities of the see: Extensive landed endowment of the Diocese of Bayeux.2
  • Cathedral rebuilding: Commissioned reconstruction; consecrated 14 July 1077.3
  • Episcopal palace: Residence and administrative centre at Bayeux.2

2. Religious patronage — Normandy

✝️ Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Préaux (Pont-Audemer): Odo witnessed a land grant to this Benedictine abbey.4

3. Norman sites directly connected

  • Rouen: Imprisoned at Rouen Castle 1082–1087.5
  • Bayeux town: Lord of the city of Bayeux as bishop.2
  • Bayeux Tapestry: Commission linked to Odo; intended for Bayeux Cathedral.6
REFERENCES
1. Bates, D. 'Odo, Earl of Kent', ODNB (2004).
2. Fauroux, M. Recueil des actes des ducs de Normandie (1961), no. 123.
3. Musset, L. Normandie romane, vol. 1 (1967), pp. 87–91.
4. Calendar of Documents Preserved in France, ed. Round, no. 168.
5. Orderic Vitalis, vol. IV, pp. 44–46.
6. Wilson, D.M. The Bayeux Tapestry (1985), pp. 202–205.
⏺️ FOOTNOTES: Odo held no secular honour in Normandy. His lands were the temporalities of Bayeux.



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