Robert de Bethune | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Hereford | |
 Interior view of Hereford Cathedral, where Robert de Bethune is buried. | |
| Appointed | 1130 |
| Term ended | 16 April 1148 |
| Predecessor | Richard de Capella |
| Successor | Gilbert Foliot |
| Other post(s) | Prior of Llanthony |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 28 June 1131 |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 16 April 1148 Reims |
| Buried | Hereford Cathedral |
Robert de Bethune[a] (died 1148) was a medieval bishop of Hereford. From a knightly family, he became a teacher before becoming a canon by 1115. He was elected prior of Llanthony Priory in the middle 1120s, and was named bishop by King Henry I of England in 1130. As bishop, he was often appointed a judge by the papacy, and was known for the care he took of his diocese.
After Henry's death in 1135, Bethune first supported King Stephen, who seized the throne from Henry's heiress the Empress Matilda, but when Matilda's forces captured Stephen, Bethune switched sides to support Matilda. When Matilda did not secure the throne, Bethune once more switched back to supporting Stephen. Construction of Hereford Cathedral was completed under Bethune's episcopate, and consecrated in 1142 and 1148. Stephen appointed Bethune as one of the English bishops that the king allowed to attend the Council of Reims in 1148, and Bethune died there in April 1148. A hagiography is the only surviving evidence of Bethune's cathedral chapter's attempts to promote him as a saint.
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