At the age of five, Godfrey was taken by his uncle, the Bishop of Soissons, who sent him to be educated in the Benedictine abbey of Mont-Saint-Quentin,[1] where his godfather Godefroid was abbot.

While at Saint Quentin, Godfrey was given charge of the sick, and appointed hospitaller, to receive the poor at the gate.

He declined both the abbacy of Saint-Remi and the bishopric of Reims, before being compelled to accept the office of bishop of Amiens.

[2] King Philip and the Council of Troyes chose Godfrey in part because he was skilled in business affairs.

Godfrey wished to retire to Grande Chartreuse to maintain a life of penitence, and in 1114 moved to a monastery.