During his time there, he became acquainted with a number of ecclesiastics, including the future Pope Adrian IV, and the writer John of Salisbury.

After Hilary's unsuccessful nomination to become Archbishop of York, Pope Eugene III compensated him by promoting him to the bishopric of Chichester in 1147.

Known for supporting his clergy and as a canon lawyer, or someone trained in ecclesiastical law, Hilary worked to have Edward the Confessor, a former English king, canonised as a saint.

[9] As Dean of Christchurch, Hilary restored the organisation to its traditional round of religious ceremonies that had been abandoned by his predecessors, as well as securing grants of privileges and lands.

[11] Hilary was unsuccessful as a candidate for the archbishopric of York against Henry Murdac in 1147, but Pope Eugene III chose to compensate him by appointing him to the see of Chichester.

[2] Soon after the council, Robert de Bethune died and Gilbert Foliot was elected to the see of Hereford, at the direction of the pope.

However, the three bishops were reluctant, and told the pope that because Gilbert had not received the royal assent, nor had he sworn fealty to Stephen, they would not consecrate him.

[21] The abbey had never received a papal exemption but relied instead on its royal foundation by William I of England, and its status as an eigenkirche, or proprietary church of the king.

[23] The appeal backfired when Hilary obtained from both Pope Eugene III and Adrian IV orders for the abbot to obey the bishop.

Both documents were admitted as genuine, and as freeing the abbey from ecclesiastical oversight, as Henry II had at his coronation confirmed all his grandfather's charters.

Vincent's point is that although there was no doubt a dispute between Hilary and the abbey over a claimed exemption, as evidenced by an 1170 letter of Becket's referring to some sort of settlement between the monks and the bishop, the actual account in the Chronicle is untrustworthy.

[31][32] Hilary was well known as a canon lawyer, and was often employed by the papacy as a judge-delegate, hearing cases that had been appealed to Rome, and then sent back to the country of origin for trial.

[35] He acted as a legal advisor to Henry II on a number of occasions, and Hilary's clerks occasionally drew up documents for the king.

[34][b] In May 1162, Hilary was part of the deputation sent to the monks of Christ Church Priory by Henry II to secure the election of Thomas Becket as the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

[19] When it was suggested that a monk should hold Canterbury, as had been the custom previously, Hilary asked if the questioners thought that only one way of life was satisfactory to God.

At Westminster, Henry tried to get the leading laymen and bishops to swear to uphold the old customs of England, instead of the newer canon law practices.

[14] The historian David Knowles described Hilary as "an extremely quick-witted, efficient, self-confident, voluble, somewhat shallow man, fully acquainted with the new canon law but not prepared to abide by principles to the end.

"[43] In Hilary's favour, he was heavily involved in providing livings for the vicars who resided at the parish churches and performed the actual cure of souls, or pastoral duties, in his diocese.

[45] One is his profession of obedience to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the others are a mix of charters, judgements made by Hilary, and confirmations of rights and privileges.