Norman Conquest Encyclopedia

The abbey at Le Bec Hellouin, 35 km south west of Rouen, was founded in 1034 by the knight Herluin, who had exchanged his destrie, or warhorse, for a donkey and foresworn worldly success. The Italian prelate Lanfranc joined the community in 1042 and one of his pupils there was to become Pope Alexander II, the man who appointed his former teacher Archbishop of Canterbury. The Abbey of Bec was thus pivotal in the worldly, political influence of the Church.

See also: destrier; Lanfranc; Pope Alexander II; Rouen