Geoffrey (sometimes
Geoffrey Plantagenet,
Geoffrey fitzPlantagenet,
or
Geoffrey fitzRoy;
c. 1152 – 12 December 1212) was an illegitimate son of
Henry II, King of England, who became
Bishop-elect of Lincoln and
Archbishop of York. The identity of his mother is uncertain, but she may have been named Ykenai. Geoffrey held a number of minor clerical offices before becoming Bishop of Lincoln in 1173, although he was not ordained a priest until 1189. In 1173–1174 he led a campaign in the north of England to help put down a rebellion by his legitimate half-brothers; this campaign led to the capture of the King of Scots. By 1182 Pope
Lucius III had ordered that Geoffrey either resign Lincoln or be
consecrated; he chose to resign, and became
Chancellor instead. He was the only one of Henry II's sons present at the king's death.
Geoffrey's half-brother
Richard I, also known as "Richard Lionheart", nominated him Archbishop of York after succeeding to the throne of England, probably to force him to become a priest and thus eliminate a potential rival for the throne. After some dispute Geoffrey was consecrated archbishop in 1191. He soon became embroiled in a conflict with
William Longchamp, Richard's regent in England, after being detained at Dover on his return to England following his consecration in France. Geoffrey claimed
sanctuary in the town, but he was seized by agents of Longchamp and briefly imprisoned in
Dover Castle. Subsequently a council of magnates ordered Longchamp out of office, and Geoffrey was able to proceed to his archdiocese. The archbishop spent much of his archiepiscopate in various disputes with his half-brothers: first Richard and then
John, Richard's successor to the English throne in 1199. Geoffrey also quarrelled with his
suffragan bishops, his
cathedral chapter, and other clergy in his
diocese. His last quarrel with John was in 1207, when the archbishop refused to allow the collection of a tax and was driven into exile in France, where he died five years later.