In 1158 or 1159
Nigel,
Bishop of Ely, paid Henry II to appoint his natural son, Richard FitzNeal, as the king's treasurer. Richard was the great nephew of
Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, who had organized the exchequer under
Henry I, when it was separated from the Chamberlain's office in the king's household. Henry II, who was an astute judge of character and inspired great loyalty, was well served by Richard, who held the post of
Lord Treasurer at the head of Henry's
exchequer for almost the next 40 years. Concurrently, Richard was
Dean of Lincoln, a major administrative position in an important English diocese. In 1184 he was made
Prebendary of Aylesbury. He also held the
prebend of
Chiswick in the diocese of London. It is in the
Dialogue that Richard recorded an oral story told him by
Henry of Blois, grandson of
William the Conqueror and
Bishop of Winchester, about the origins of
Domesday Book, which according to Henry of Blois's story was made so that "every man might be content with his own rights, and not encroach unpunished on those of others". As well as being treasurer, FitzNeal was rewarded with the position of
bishop of London from 1189 until his death in 1198. He was nominated on 15 September 1189 and consecrated on 31 December 1189. The
Diocese of London ranks third in honour in the Church of England, after the Archdioceses of
Canterbury and
York. Evidence from FitzNeal's writings shows that Richard had read the
Institutes but that he seems to have not read the
Digest, although he may have known of it. FitzNeal was replaced as treasurer in 1196 by
William of Ely. He died on 10 September 1198. ==Notes==