Leofric (bishop)

Leofric was a medieval Bishop of Exeter. Probably a native of Cornwall, he was educated on the continent. At the time Edward the Confessor was in exile before his succession to the English throne, Leofric joined his service and returned to England with him. After he became king, Edward rewarded Leofric with lands. Although a 12thcentury source claims Leofric held the office of chancellor, modern historians agree he never did so.

Leofric was probably born in Cornwall, and his parents were English. Because canon law required that a bishop beyears old when consecrated, it is likely that Leofric was born before 1016. The medieval chronicler Florence of Worcester referred to him as a Brytonicus, which presumably meant that he was a native of Cornwall. He had a brother, Ordmaer, who acted as his steward and administered the family estates. Leofric was educated in Lotharingia, and may have been brought up abroad. Leofric may have gone into exile either in 1013 when Sweyn Forkbeard, the king of Denmark invaded England or in 1016, when Sweyns son Cnut became king of England. His education possibly took place at the church of St Stephens in Toul, where the future Pope Leo IX was a canon from 1017 to 1024 and bishop after 1027.

Source: Wikipedia