He is best known for his Tractatus super librum Boetii De Trinitate, a commentary on the Opuscula Sacra of Boethius.
He was a follower of Thierry of Chartres and Hugh of St. Victor, and an opponent of Gilbert of Poitiers.
It is possible that Clarembald went to Laon, where the name ‘Clarembald’ appears in the church records along with ‘Simon’ as chaplains of the church of Sts Nicolas and James under the reigns of Walter of Mortagne (1152–74) and Roger de Rozoy (1174–1201).
In his letter to Abbot Odo which precedes his commentary on Boethius’ De Trinitate in ms. Saint-Omer 142, Clarembald mentions that he served for a time as schoolmaster in Laon.
In his biography of Thomas Becket, the monk William of Canterbury mentioned that Clarembald of Arras gave some relics of Becket to a convent in Bapaume, a town about fifteen miles from Arras.