Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Clarembald
CLAREMBALD (fl. 1161), abbot-elect, although he was a secular priest, was forced on the monks of St. Augustine’s, Canterbury, as their abbot by Henry II in 1161. He was one of the king's clerks, and must have been trusted by his master, for he was one of the justices commissioned in 1170 to hold an inquiry to the conduct of the sheriffs. The monks were angry at his appointment, and would not allow him to enter the chapter-house, celebrate mass, or perform any other sacred function in their church. During the quarrel between the king and Archbishop Thomas (Becket) they were forced to forbear prosecuting their appeal against the kings appointment, and the abbot-elect wasted the property of the convent. At last, in 1176, after fifteen years of intrusion, Clarembald was removed from his office by order of Alexander III. During the time he claimed the abbacy, St. Augustine's was for the most part destroyed by fire.
[Chron. W. Thorn. 1815–19; Gervase, 1410; Dugdale's Monasticon, i. 122; Foss's Judges, i. 224.]