Richard of Dover

Richard of Dover
Archbishop of Canterbury
Appointed3 June 1173
Term ended16 February 1184
PredecessorRoger de Bailleul
SuccessorBaldwin of Forde
Other post(s)Prior of Dover Priory
Orders
Consecration7 April 1174
by Pope Alexander III
Personal details
Died16 February 1184
Halling, Kent
BuriedCanterbury Cathedral

Richard (died 1184) was a medieval Benedictine monk and Archbishop of Canterbury. Employed by Thomas Becket immediately before Becket's death, Richard arranged for Becket to be buried in Canterbury Cathedral and eventually succeeded Becket at Canterbury in a contentious election. Much of Richard's time as archbishop was spent in a dispute with Roger de Pont L'Evêque, the Archbishop of York over the primacy of England, and with St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury over the archbishop's jurisdiction over the abbey. Richard had better relations with King Henry II of England than Becket had and was employed by the king on diplomatic affairs. Richard also had the trust of the papacy and served as a judge for it. Several of his questions to Pope Alexander III were collected into the Decretals, a collection of ecclesiastical laws, and his patronage of canon lawyers did much to advance the study of canon law in England.