William de Blois
Bishop of Worcester
Elected	c. 25 August 1218
Term ended	August 1236
Predecessor	Sylvester of Worcester
Successor	Walter de Cantilupe
Orders
Consecration	7 October 1218
Personal details
Died	17 or 18 August 1236
Denomination	Catholic
Previous post(s)	Archdeacon of Buckingham

William de Blois was a medieval Bishop of Worcester.

Life

William was a canon of the diocese of Lincoln and held the office of Archdeacon of Buckingham in that diocese by 10 May 1206. Presumably he was related to William de Blois, Bishop of Lincoln, but the exact relationship is unknown.^[1]

William was elected to the see of Worcester sometime around 25 August 1218 and his election was confirmed by the papal legate to England Guala.^[2] He was consecrated on 7 October 1218. He died on 17 or 18 August 1236^[3] or on 17 August.^[2]

In 1224 William was appointed Sheriff of Staffordshire^[4] and Shropshire.^{[citation needed]}

While Bishop of Worcester, William imposed particularly strict rules on Jews within the diocese in 1219.^[5] As elsewhere in England, Jews were officially compelled to wear square white badges, supposedly representing tabula. Blois attempted to impose additional restrictions on usury, and wrote to Pope Gregory in 1229 to ask for further, harsher measures, and complaining about lack of enforcement of measures in Canterbury. In response, the papacy demanded that Christians be prevented from working in Jewish homes, and for enforcement of the wearing of badges.^[6]

Citations

References

British History Online Archdeacons of Buckingham accessed on 3 November 2007
British History Online Bishops of Worcester accessed on 3 November 2007
Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
Vincent, Nicholas (1994). "Two Papal Letters on the Wearing of the Jewish Badge, 1221 and 1229". Jewish Historical Studies. 34: 209–224. JSTOR 29779960.

Catholic Church titles Preceded bySylvester of Worcester Bishop of Worcester 1218–1236 Succeeded byWalter de Cantilupe

v t e Bishops of Worcester
Early medieval	Bosel Oftfor Egwin of Evesham Wilfrith (I) Milred Waermund Tilhere Heathured Denebeorht Heahbeorht Ealhhun Werferth Æthelhun Wilfrith (II) Koenwald Dunstan Oswald Ealdwulf
High medieval	Wulfstan (I) Leofsige Beorhtheah Lyfing Ælfric Puttoc Lyfing Ealdred Wulfstan (II) Samson Theulf Simon John de Pageham Alured Roger Baldwin of Forde William of Northall Robert FitzRalph Henry de Sully John of Coutances Mauger Randulf of Evesham Walter de Gray Sylvester William de Blois Walter de Cantilupe Nicholas of Ely Godfrey Giffard
Late medieval	John St German William Gainsborough Walter Reynolds Walter Maidstone Thomas Cobham Wulstan Bransford Adam Orleton Simon Montacute Thomas Hemenhale Wulstan Bransford John of Thoresby Reginald Brian John Barnet William Whittlesey William Lenn Walter Lyghe Henry Wakefield Robert Tideman of Winchcombe Richard Clifford Thomas Peverel Philip Morgan Thomas Polton Thomas Brunce Thomas Bourchier John Carpenter ("Bishop of Worcester and Westbury") John Alcock Robert Morton Giovanni de' Gigli
Early modern	Silvestro de' Gigli Girolamo Ghinucci Hugh Latimer John Bell Nicholas Heath John Hooper, Bishop of Worcester and Gloucester Nicholas Heath Richard Pate Edwin Sandys Nicholas Bullingham John Whitgift Edmund Freke Richard Fletcher Thomas Bilson Gervase Babington Henry Parry John Thornborough John Prideaux Episcopacy abolished (Commonwealth) George Morley John Gauden John Earle Robert Skinner Walter Blandford James Fleetwood William Thomas Edward Stillingfleet William Lloyd John Hough Isaac Maddox James Johnson Brownlow North Richard Hurd
Late modern	Folliott Cornewall Robert Carr Henry Pepys Henry Philpott John Perowne Charles Gore Huyshe Yeatman-Biggs Ernest Pearce Arthur Perowne William Wilson Cash Mervyn Charles-Edwards Robin Woods Philip Goodrich Peter Selby John Inge