Dean of St Paul's
About 1180 be became dean of St Paul's. In this office he distinguished himself by careful management of the estates, by restoring the discipline of the chapter, and by building at his own expense a deanery-house. A scholar and a man of considerable erudition, he showed a strong preference for historical studies; and about the time when he was preferred to the deanery he began to collect materials for the history of his own times.
His friendships with Richard Fitz Nigel, who succeeded Foliot in the see of London, with William Longchamp, the chancellor of Richard I, and with Walter de Coutances, the archbishop of Rouen, gave him excellent opportunities of collecting information.
Read more about this topic: Ralph De Diceto
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