William de Corbeil

William de Corbeil.
William de Corbeil (c. 1070 – 1136) was an Archbishop of Canterbury, and the first Augustinian canon to become an archbishop in England. Born at Corbeil, south of Paris, he was educated as a theologian. In 1123 he was elected to the See of Canterbury. Throughout his archbishopric, William was embroiled in a dispute with Thurstan, the Archbishop of York, over the primacy of Canterbury. As a temporary solution, the pope appointed William the papal legate for England, giving him powers superior to those of York. He presided over three legatine councils, which condemned the purchase of benefices or priesthoods and admonished the clergy to be celibate. He oversaw construction of the keep of Rochester Castle (pictured), the tallest Norman-built keep in England. Towards the end of his life William crowned Count Stephen of Boulogne as King of England, despite his oath to the dying King Henry I that he would support the succession of Henry's daughter, the Empress Matilda.