ARNOLFO, bishop of LISIEUX. - Born probably at the end of the 11th century or at the beginning of the 12th, died at Lisieux in 1184. He spent his youth at Séez, where he received a good literary education and held the office of archdeacon. In 1130 he went to Rome, where he became involved in the confused events of the double papal election, and wrote a strongly polemical pamphlet against the antipope Anacletus II. In 1141 he was elected bishop of Lisieux, but his appointment was strongly opposed by the local lord, the count of Anjou. When the schism broke out again in 1159, Arnolfo was a very active supporter of Alexander III, winning over bishops and princes in France and England to his cause. At the Synod of Tours in 1163, convened against the antipope Victor IV and Frederick Barbarossa, he delivered three solemn sermons in which he extolled the supremacy of the Apostolic See. Given his prestige and the favor he enjoyed with Henry II of England, he exercised influence over the ecclesiastical life of both England and France; however, he encountered strong opposition, and his attempt at mediation between the English king and St. Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, was particularly unsuccessful. Accused of embezzlement, he was deposed by his chapter, and, despite the justice done to him by the Pope, he retired to a monastery where he died.