Geoffrey de Montbray Geoffrey de Montbray ( Montbrai , Mowbray ) ( died 1093 ) , bishop of Coutances ( ) , also known as Geoffrey of Coutances , a Norman nobleman , trusted adviser of William the Conqueror and a great secular prelate , warrior and administrator . Career . Geoffrey , from his name , was apparently from Montbrai , Manche , in the arrondissement of Saint - Lô in the Basse - Normandie region of the former Duchy of Normandy . In 1049 he obtained the see of Coutances , arranged by his brother Malger ( see Mowbray ) . He was consecrated at Rouen on 12 March 1049 , presumably by Mauger who was Archbishop of Rouen at that time . Later that year at the Council of Reims he was accused of simony , in other words , of having purchased his bishopric . In a skillful defense Geoffrey claimed that without his knowledge his brother bought the bishopric for him . He was allowed to keep his see on giving of an oath of his good faith . However irregular his election to the bishopric , Geoffrey discovered his new diocese was in very poor condition . For nearly a century the church in the Cotentin had not recovered from destruction at the hands of the Northmen . There was obstinate paganism , few canons , and no books , bibles , or ornamentation . A long line of bishops before him had resided at Rouen or Saint - Lô , and being so remote from the diocese little had been accomplished in restoring the see . The few relics that former clerics managed to save along with the bodies of two former bishops , St . Lô and St . Rumpharius ( † ) had been kept at the church of St . Sauveur in Rouen , given to Bishop Theoderic of Coutances by count Rollo as a temporary cathedral . Along with bishop Odo , a warrior - prelate like himself , he was at Hastings , exhorting the Normans to victory . At William ' s coronation William was presented to the English people in English by Archbishop Aldred and in French by Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances . His reward in England was a large fief scattered over 12 counties . He accompanied William on his visit to Normandy ( 1067 ) . Having returned to England he took a leading role in suppressing the wave of English rebellions which erupted in the late summer of 1069 . While William marched north against the uprisings in Mercia and Northumbria , Geoffrey gathered troops from the forces occupying London , Winchester and Salisbury and led them to victory against the rebels besieging Montacute Castle in September 1069 . In 1075 he again took the field against the Revolt of the Earls , leading with Bishop Odo a large army against Ralph de Guader , the rebel Earl of Norfolk , besieging and capturing his stronghold at Norwich . Meanwhile the Conqueror had invested him with important judicial functions . In 1072 he presided over the great Kentish suit between the primate and Bishop Odo , and about the same time over those between the abbot of Ely and his despoilers , and between the Bishop of Worcester and the abbot of Ely , and he likely acted as a Domesday commissioner ( 1086 ) , and was placed about the same time in charge of Northumberland . He also signed the Accord of Winchester . The bishop , who attended the Conqueror ' s funeral , joined in the rising against William Rufus in 1088 , making Bristol , with which ( as Domesday shows ) he was closely connected and where he had built a strong castle , his base of operations . He burned Bath and ravaged Somerset , but submitted to the king before the end of the year . He appears to have been at Dover with William in January 1090 , but , withdrawing to Normandy , died at Coutances in 1093 . In his fidelity to Duke Robert he seems to have there held out for him against his brother Henry , when the latter obtained the Cotentin . His character . Orderic Vitalis wrote that de Montbray was prideful of his noble birth , was better known for his military rather than his clerical ability ; he knew more about marshaling soldiers in battle than teaching psalm - singing clerks . He was an integral part of the close - knit aristocratic group that formed the majority of the Norman episcopate during the reign of Duke William . David C . Douglas stated you could display their principal filiations within two very restricted and connected pedigrees . He was a lay prelate who got his start under very questionable circumstances , but yet a conscientious and effective bishop who accomplished much on both sides of the English Channel . Additional references . For original authorities :