Showing posts with label Archbishop of York. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Archbishop of York. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Ralph d'Escures

While Anselm was still abbot of Bec and avoiding the journey to England to become Archbishop of Canterbury because of William II's authoritarian attitude, he attended the installation of his friend Ralph d'Escures as abbot of St. Martin at Séez (northwestern France). d'Escures had been at Bec with Anselm.

Orderic Vitalis, a contemporary chronicler, said he was well-educated and loved by all. The critical-of-clergy William of Malmesbury even said good things about him, although William says that d'Escures occasionally lapsed into inappropriate behavior.

Not long after becoming abbot of St. Martin, d'Escures was in England, visiting St. Martin's daughter house, Shrewsbury Abbey.* Henry I was having trouble with Robert, Earl of Shrewsbury, and some chroniclers say it was Ralph who mediated in Robert's surrender. Robert demanded homage from d'Escures, because Shrewsbury Abbey was in Robert's domain, but d'Escures refused. Pope Urban II had declared that clergy should not owe homage to secular lords, and d'Escures was willing to fight that fight.

d'Escures remained in England, and was one of the clergy who examined the body of St. Cuthbert when it was disinterred for travel, declaring it to be uncorrupted. In August 1108, he was made Bishop of Rochester at the death of Gundulf, and less than a year later attended Anselm's deathbed. He was chosen to succeed Anselm, but not appointed until April 1114. Henry I tried to appoint Faricius, the Abbot of Abingdon. The bishops and secular nobles objected, however, because Faricius was Italian and they wanted a Norman for the position.

It was now up to Pope Paschal II to grant the pallium, without which an archbishop could not be properly consecrated. Paschal was reluctant, however: just as Anselm had fought for the autonomy of the English Church from secular authority, the pope noticed an alarming amount of independence of the English Church from papal authority. England was naming bishops to dioceses without consulting with or getting approval from the pope.

d'Escures also refused to confirm a new Archbishop of York, because the candidate, Thurstan, would not profess obedience to Canterbury. Paschal supported Thurstan, but d'Escures still refused. After Paschal's death, d'Escures held out on Thurstan through two other popes, Gelasius II and Calixtus II (who finally settled the Investiture Controversy).

In July 1119, as he finished Mass and was removing his vestments, he suffered a stroke, becoming unable to speak clearly and partially paralyzed. He insisted on still being involved in important affairs, however. When King Henry I married Adeliza of Louvain (his first wife, Matilda of Scotland, had died a year earlier), d'Escures wanted to officiate. Unable to perform himself, however, he stubbornly forced his own choice of officiant on the ceremony rather than the king's choice.

Ralph d'Escures died on 20 October 1122, and was buried in the nave of Canterbury Cathedral three days later.

Thurstan was still not installed as Archbishop of York, so with Ralph gone, one would expect that the York-Canterbury controversy would end. Not quite. Tomorrow I'll tell you about the ups and downs of Thurstan's journey to York, and how he inadvertently created a pirate.

*Inciodentally, the site of the Brother Cadfael mysteries.

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Anselm's Legacy

One of Anselm's last challenges was dealing with a challenge to his authority, but this time not from a secular source. England had two archbishops, Canterbury and York (seen here in 2023). Traditionally, the Archbishop of Canterbury was the primate of England with authority over the English Church. The Archbishop of York was secondary, but this was not acceptable to many of the men who sat in that seat.

In 1108, the Archbishop of York was Thomas II of York. Thomas refused to profess obedience to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The cathedral chapters of each place supported their archbishops. The lay investiture debate—whether secular lords like the king could determine religious titles—was raging, and it would have been against the church's best interests to appeal to the king for help in resolving their primacy issue.

The question had already been resolved in 1071 when Anselm's predecessor, Lanfranc, and the Archbishop of York, Thomas of Bayeaux, appealed to Pope Alexander II, who sided with Canterbury (although he refused to resolve a different dispute between the two, leaving it to the king's council).

Thomas of York's point was that he had received his pallium directly from Pope Paschal II (he had sent the dean of York Cathedral to Rome to fetch it). He therefore felt he did not owe anything to Canterbury.

An old and ill Anselm, from his sickbed, declared anathema any who failed to recognize the superiority of Canterbury. This was a sign that excommunication was on the table, and Henry stepped in, ordering Thomas to profess obedience to Canterbury. Anselm, hearing this, declared himself content. He died 21 April 1109, and was interred near Lanfranc at Canterbury Cathedral in what is now St. Thomas's Chapel. His current remains are unknown, having been relocated after a fire in the 1170s.

Anselm left a body of writing that is considered some of the sharpest intellectual discussions of Christianity in the Middle Ages. They were copied and spread far and wide, and influenced many including Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, and William of Ockham. He also spoke out strongly against slavery, although his declarations did not bring about any changes.

His lifelong battle to separate church authority from lay investiture had an unintended consequence, that put Pope Paschal at odds with Anselm's successor. I'll explain the Pope's problem with England and the next Archbishop of Canterbury tomorrow.

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

The Bastard Archbishop

When Henry II died, his eldest son living was Geoffrey. Geoffrey was not in a position to ascend to the throne, however, because he was illegitimate. Henry had taken care of him with ecclesiastical positions, but Geoffrey had refused to be ordained a priest, even though he had been named a bishop. He had finally resigned the bishopric and became Henry's chancellor. His name appears in only a few official documents between 1182 and 1185, however. As with his religious positions, he had shown himself to be less than enthusiastic about carrying out any associated duties. As chancellor he had a keeper of the seal to authorize documents, freeing him up from daily obligations.

Henry's dying wish was that Geoffrey be made Bishop of Winchester or Archbishop of York (ecclesiastically equal to, but traditionally subordinate to, the Archbishop of Canterbury). The next king, Richard I, made Geoffrey Archbishop of York on 20 July 1189. Richard's magnanimity was motivated by a desire to keep Geoffrey from aspiring to a place at Court. Even if he did not aspire to the throne, he had served their father by leading the army, and might be persuaded to stir up trouble against Richard. It also showed Henry's supporters that Richard, who had rebelled against his father more than once, was willing to respect Henry's wishes. Moreover, it justified Richard removing Geoffrey from the position of chancellor.

With Geoffrey's major supporter dead, however, life was not going to be easy. Richard did not trust him, and made Geoffrey pledge to live outside of England while Richard was on Crusade. Also, York already had an archbishop: Hubert Walter had been voted archbishop by the cathedral chapter, supported by Eleanor of Aquitaine. It is possible that Eleanor opposed privileges for Geoffrey because he was a product of her late husband's illegitimate affairs. Richard also appointed some positions that would normally be made by the archbishop, to which Geoffrey objected. Richard responded by confiscating lands that belonged to Geoffrey's position, saying he would return them when Geoffrey agreed to be ordained and become a proper priest and prelate. Richard was further ensconcing Geoffrey into the church structure to keep him away from the throne, and showing the kingdom not to mess with him, since he could be strict even with his relatives. Even returning the lands to him required Geoffrey pay Richard a fine of £2000.

Geoffrey's troubles were far from over. Although Richard had given him time to pay the fine, it took so long (there were elements hostile to Geoffrey that hampered his efforts), that Richard finally re-confiscated the lands and increased the fine. Because Geoffrey's ordination took place at Tours, France, there were those who rejected his authority because he had not been consecrated as archbishop by the Archbishop of Canterbury. He was even arrested and imprisoned in Dover Castle by the current chancellor, William Longchamp, who claimed that Geoffrey had not pledged loyalty to Richard. Fortunately for Geoffrey, an archbishop imprisoned by an agent of the king invoked memories of Thomas Becket's death, and there was an outcry against Longchamp's actions.

Then, in 1199, Richard died, and John became king. John had not joined his brothers in their rebellions against Henry, and often appeared to be Henry's favorite. So how did he deal with his father's "other" favorite? I'll talk about that, and Geoffrey's final fate, tomorrow.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

The Fighting Bishop

Tomb of Remigius, Lincoln Cathedral [link]
A "ship list" exists of the ships used by William of Normandy when he conquered England in 1066. It records who contributed the ship and in many cases the men and supplies aboard. One of the ships was provided by Remigius de Fécamp, a Benedictine monk.

The exact participation of Remigius is in dispute. According to the historian Henry of Huntingdon (c.1088 - c.1157), Remigius fought at the Battle of Hastings, bringing 20 knights along with his ship. Gerald of Wales, however, who thought so highly of Remigius that he tried to get him canonized as a saint (it never happened), said he only came along with 10 knights that were sent from the region of Fécamp.

His contribution must have been significant, because after the Conquest he was made the Bishop of Dorchester, which at the time was the largest diocese in England. But he had to continue "fighting": his ordination by Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury was a point of contention when papal legates came to England in 1070 and pushed Stigand out of his office, also reversing the appointment of Remigius to Dorchester. Stigand's successor, Lanfranc, wouldn't touch the subject of Remigius' legitimacy, and Remigius had to travel to Rome in 1071 to seek forgiveness from Pope Alexander II and become "properly" re-appointed as a bishop.

Was there smooth sailing now that he was recognized as Bishop of Dorchester? Not quite. There were two archbishoprics in England—York and Canterbury—and each one claimed that Dorchester belonged in its territory and Remigius' loyalty was to that archbishop. Lanfranc and the Archbishop of York, Thomas of Bayeaux, appealed to Pope Alexander II who, even though he was a former pupil of Lanfranc's and held him in high esteem, refused to take sides, pushing the debate back to the king's council in England.

The council ruled that Dorchester (and Lichfield and Worcester, to which York also lay claim), belonged to Canterbury. Still, Thomas would occasionally ask for help from Remigius, such as during the consecration of the Bishop of the Orkney Islands. Remigius, not wanting to set a precedent that he "worked for" York, appealed to Canterbury to keep him away from the ceremony.

Remigius had a long and busy career, taking part in William's courts, and sitting on the commission that produced the Domesday Book. He died on 7 May 1092 and was buried in Lincoln Cathedral, where his bones, chalice, paten, and half of his crozier were recovered in 1927.