Biography of Bishop Peter de Roches -1238
Annals of Margam. 1204. Obiit Alienor (age 82) regina. Obiit Godefridus1 Wintonise episcopus; successit Petrus de Rupibus archdiaconus Pictavæe, a domino Papa Romæ postea consecratus. Gwido2 Prænestinus, et quondam abbas Cistercii, factus est archiepiscopus Remensis.
Queen Eleanor died. Bishop Godfrey de Lucy died; he was succeeded by Peter de Rupibus, archdeacon of Poitiers, afterwards consecrated by the Lord Pope of Rome. Gwido2 Prænestine, and formerly abbot of the Cistercians, became archbishop of Reims.
Note 1. Godfrey de Lucy.
Note 2. Guido II., cardinal bishop of Præneste.
Around Mar 1205 Bishop Peter de Roches was elected Bishop of Winchester.
On 24 Mar 1206 Bishop Peter de Roches was consecrated Bishop of Winchester.
In 1216 Bishop Peter de Roches was appointed High Sheriff of Hampshire.
On 19 Oct 1216 King John "Lackland" of England (age 49) died at Newark Castle [Map]. His son King Henry III of England (age 9) succeeded III King England.
John Monmouth (age 34) was present.
On his deathbed, John appointed a council of thirteen executors to help Henry reclaim the kingdom and requested that his son be placed into the guardianship of William Marshal 1st Earl Pembroke (age 70).
King John's will is the earliest English royal will to survive in its original form. The document is quite small, roughly the size of a postcard and the seals of those who were present at the time would have been attached to it. Translation of the will taken from an article by Professor S.D. Church in the English Historical Review, June 2010:
I, John, by the grace of God king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, count of Anjou, hindered by grave infirmity and not being able at this time of my infirmity to itemize all my things so that I may make a testament, commit the arbitration and administration of my testament to the trust and to the legitimate administration of my faithful men whose names are written below, without whose counsel, even in good health, I would have by no means arranged my testament in their presence, so that what they will faithfully arrange and determine concerning my things as much as in making satisfaction to God and to holy Church for damages and injuries done to them as in sending succour to the land of Jerusalem and in providing support to my sons towards obtaining and defending their inheritance and in making reward to those who have served us faithfully and in making distribution to the poor and to religious houses for the salvation of my soul, be right and sure. I ask, furthermore, that whoever shall give them counsel and assistance in the arranging of my testament shall receive the grace and favour of God. Whoever shall infringe their arrangement and disposition, may he incur the curse and indignation of almighty God and the blessed Mary and all the saints.
In the first place, therefore, I desire that my body be buried in the church of St Mary and St Wulfstan at Worcester. I appoint, moreover, the following arbiters and administrators: the lord Guala, by the grace of God, cardinal-priest of the title of St Martin and legate of the apostolic see; the lord Peter bishop of Winchester; the lord Richard bishop of Chichester; the lord Silvester bishop of Worcester; Brother Aimery de St-Maur; William Marshal earl of Pembroke; Ranulf earl of Chester; William earl Ferrers; William Brewer; Walter de Lacy and John of Monmouth; Savaric de Mauléon; Falkes de Bréauté.
The signatories were:
Guala Bicchieri (ca 1150 - 1227) Papal Legate.
Bishop Peter de Roches, Bishop of Winchester.
Richard le Poer (? - 1237), Bishop of Chichester.
Sylvester of Worcester, Bishop of Worcester.
Aimery de St-Maur (? -?1219), Master of the English Templars.
William Marshal 1st Earl Pembroke (age 70).
Ranulf de Blondeville Gernon 6th Earl Chester 1st Earl Lincoln (age 46).
William Ferrers 4th Earl of Derby (age 48).
William Brewer (? - 1226), 1st Baron Brewer.
Walter de Lacy (ca 1172-1241) Lord of Meath.
John: (1182 - 1248) Lord of Monmouth.
Savaric de Mauléon (? - 1236) Seneschal of Poitou from 1205.
Falkes de Bréauté (? - 1226) Seneschal of Cardiff Castle.
On 20 May 1217 William Marshal 1st Earl Pembroke (age 71) and Ranulf de Blondeville Gernon 6th Earl Chester 1st Earl Lincoln (age 47) fought at Lincoln, Lincolnshire [Map] during the Second Battle of Lincoln.
Rebels William Mowbray 6th Baron Thirsk (age 44) and William Ros (age 17) were captured. William D'Aubigny (age 66) fought for the rebels. Thomas Chateaudun I Count Perche (age 22) died fighting for the rebels.
Bishop Peter de Roches led a division of the royal army and earned some distinction by his valour.
Letters. 1220. Letter IX. Berengaria of Navarre Queen Consort England (age 55) to Bishop Peter de Roches.
To her venerable father in Christ and most cordial friend Peter, by God's grace bishop of Winchester, Berengaria, by the same grace formerly the humble queen of England, wishes health and every good thing.
We send to you our well-beloved Friar Walter, of the Cistercian order, the bearer of these presents, beseeching you humbly and devotedly, with all the humility that we can, that, in reference as well to this present feast of All Saints as to other terms now past, you will cause us to be satisfied about the money due to us according to the composition of our dower, which, by your mediation, we made with our brother John of happy memory, formerly king of England. Fare you well.
1232. Titchfield Abbey, Hampshire [Map] of St Mary and St John the Evangelist was founded by Bishop Peter de Roches, Bishop of Winchester, for Premonstratensian canons, an order founded at Prémontré in France and known also as the 'White Canons'. The first canons came from Halesowen Abbey, Shropshire [Map].
Flowers of History 1233. How the bishop of Winchester bribed the confederates of the earl marshal.
Peter bishop of Winchester, who endeavoured by all the means in his power to weaken the cause of the earl marshal and his confederates, bribed the earls of Chester (age 25) and Lincoln (age 40) by the gift of a thousand marks to abandon the marshal and the cause of justice, and to come over to the king's party; for Richard, the king's brother (age 23), who at first adhered to the cause of the marshal, had some time before returned to the king's side. When the marshal discovered this, he entered into a confederacy with Llewellyn the prince of North Wales, and some other chiefs of that province, and they mutually made oath that neither of them would make peace with king Henry without the consent of the other. On the day following the assumption of Saint Mary, a great many soldiers arrived at Dover from the continent and went to the king at Gloucester, on which he led his army forward to the city of Hereford, attended by a host of these and many others.
Flowers of History 1233. Of discord which arose between the king and the nobles of the kingdom.
All this time Peter bishop of Winchester and his colleague had so perverted the king's heart with hatred and contempt for his Engish subjects, that he endeavoured by all the means in his power to exterminate them, and invited such legions of people from 'Poitou that they entirely filled England, and wherever the king went he was surrounded by crowds of these foreigners ; and nothing was done in England except what the bishop of Winchester and this host of foreigners determined on. The king then sent letters, and summoned all the earls and barons of the kingdom to come to a conference at Oxford on the feast of St. John ; but they refused to come at his summons, both because they feared treachery from these foreigners, and on account of the anger which they had conceived against the king for his having summoned all these foreign era in contempt of them the said barons. On their refusal being carried to the king by special messengers, he became much enraged, and ordered a decree to be passed by which he could compel them to attend his court. It was then decided that they should be summoned thrice, in order to see if they would come or not. At this conference a certain brother of the order of Preachers, who was preaching the word of God in the presence of the king and some of the bishops, plainly told the king with a loud voice that he would never enjoy a lasting peace till he dismissed Peter bishop of Winchester, and Peter de Rivaulx his son, from his councils. Many others who were present also told the king the same ; whereupon he sent word to the nobles aforesaid to come to a conference at Westminster on the 11th of July, when he would consult with them as to any amendment which ought to be made by right.1 The nobles however, having heard that numbers of these robbers, equipped with horses and arms, continued to arrive from time to time on the king's invitation, and seeing no sings of tranquillity, declined to attend at the appointed day, and, by special messengers, demanded of the king the immediate dismissal of Peter bishop of Winchester and his other counsellors the nobles of Poictou, otherwise they would, by common consent, unite to drive him as well as his evil advisers from the kingdom, and proceed to choose a new king.
Note 1. Paris inserts here:- "The king, after some deliberation, inclined his heart to reason, and a certain clerk of the court, named Roger Bacon, a man of pleasant speech, on seeing him softened, said pleasantly and wittily although churlishly rebuking him, "My lord king, what is most dangerous to sailors, or what frightens them most?" The king replied, "Those whose business is on the wide waters know liest." The clerk then said, " My lord I will tell you it is stones and rocks," [petra et rupes] as though he meant to hint at Peter de Rupibus, the name of the bishop of Winchester. The king therefore, &c. &c."
Flowers of History 1233. How the marshal remonstrated teith the king.
By these and like injuries, high and low were alike oppressed, and Earl Richard (age 41), marshal of the kingdom, seeing this, and that the laws of the kingdom were being destroyed, was incited by his zeal in the cause of justice, and, in company with some other nobles, boldly went to the king, and, in the hearing of numbers, reproached him with having by ill advice introduced these foreigners of Poitou to the oppression of the kingdom and of his natural subjects, and to the subversion of the laws and liberties ; he therefore humbly begged of the king at once to put a stop to such abuses, owing to which, his crown and kingdom were in imminent danger of destruction ; he moreover declared that, if he refused to amend matters, he and the other nobles of the kingdom would withdraw themselves from his councils as long as he held communication with these foreigners. To this Peter bishop of Winchester replied, that his lord the king was surely allowed to summon as many foreigners as he chose for the protection of his kingdom and crown, and as many and such men as would be able to reduce his haughty and rebellious subjects to their proper obedience. The earl Marshal and the other nobles being unable to obtain any other answer, left the court in dismay, and made a fixed determination one with another to fight for this cause, which concerned them all, till their souls were separated from their bodies.
Flowers of History 1233. The election of the archbishop of Canterbury annttl/ed.
About the same time, master John, surnamed le Blund, was elected to the archbishopric of Canterbury. It was divulged at Rome, that after his election he had received a thousand marks of silver as a present from Peter bishop of Winchester, besides another thousand marks which that bishop had lent him to help him in obtaining his promotion, and it was therefore evident that the friendship of the said bishop was rather injurious than beneficial to him ; besides this the said John, it was reported, had confessed at Rome that he held two benefices, to which the cure of souls was entrusted, in opposition to the decrees of the general council, whereby he incurred the charge of presumption. But, inasmuch as the election of three of the archbishops of the church of Canterbury had been annulled lately, the aforesaid church had been for a long time without a pastor, he therefore gave permission to the monks, who had come with the rejected archbishop elect, to choose master Edmund (age 58), a canon of the church of Salisbury, as the pastor of their souls, in order that a metropolitan see of such importance might not be any longer without a pastor, and at the same time sent him the pall. The monks however resolved not to accept of him or of any one else, except by the consent of their whole community.
Flowers of History 1233. Of the escape of Hubert de Burgh (age 63)/h.
About this time Peter bishop of Winchester, who above all things desired the death of Hubert de Burgh, who was a prisoner in Devizes castle [Map], without mentioning Hubert's name, earnestly begged of the king to give him charge of the said castle, being, as was said, in hopes of thus obtaining a chance of putting him to death. Hubert however was forewarned of all these plans by his friends at the king's court, and disclosed them to two retainers of the garrison of the castle who attended on him, and they, pitying his sufferings, devised a plan by which he might escape from death. They therefore watched their opportunity, and on the night of Michaelmas eve, when the garrison were asleep, one of them, whilst the other kept watch, took Hubert, fettered as he was, on his shoulders, and descended from the tower carrying his pious theft with which he passed entirely through the castle, unheard by the garrison, till he reached the great gate, where he went out, and, crossing a deep trench, though with much difficulty, made his way to the parochial church, and did not set down his burden till he arrived before the great altar. The two men who had set Hubert at liberty then refused to leave him, considering that it would be to their glory if they should suffer a temporal death for preserving the life of such a great man.
Chronica Majora. Sep 1236. The pope, on hearing such profound reasonings, in order that he might not seem opposed to such incontrovertible arguments, pretended to give his consent; and that he might cross the mountains and enter Italy according to his purpose, his holiness promised, without fail, as far as he was able, to afford him his paternal assistance in every necessity. The emperor, encouraged by this, having by an imperial edict collected all the forces he could muster, entered Italy, followed by a large body of troops. The Milanese, not without reason, fearing his terrible anger, sent to the pope, asking advice and effectual assistance from him; and he, after receiving a large sum of money, with a promise of more, sent them much relief and assistance, to the injury of the emperor, and this seemed incredible and contrary to every one's opinion, that in siicli case of necessity the father would be converted into a stepfather. The citizens then sallied forth from the city in great force, to the number of about fifty thousand armed men, and proceeded with their standard (which they called "carruca," or "carrochium,") to meet the emperor, sending, word that they were ready to fight him. About this time, a certain knight named Baldwin de Yere, had come from England as a messenger from the English king to the emperor, to arrange some secret business concerning the said king and the emperor; and on all these matters he afterwards gave his hearers full information. When the emperor heard that the Milanese had broken out into such audacity as to kick against him, he at once prognosticated that they liad conceived this boldness, depending on the support of others than themselves; and after the matter had been carefully weighed in council with his nobles, it was agreed by acclamation that all who were present on the side of the emperor, from the highest to the lowest, should, without delay, fly to arms and attack this Milanese rabble, which dared, like mice coming from their holes, to provoke their lord to battle and to try their strength with the imperial forces. When this determination was made known to the Milanese, they halted for a little, and one of the elder citizens, on whose judgment the opinion of all depended, arranged the others in a circle around him and spoke a^ follows: "Hear me, noble citizens. The emperor is at hand in great power and vnih a large army, and he, as is known to the whole world, is our lord. If this lamentable struggle should take place, irreparable harm will arise from it; for if we are victorious in it, we shall obtain a reproachful and bloody victory over our lord, but if we are conquered, he will destroy our name, and that of our people and our city for ever, and we shall be a disgrace to every nation. Since, therefore, in every event it is dishonourable and dangerous to proceed further in a hostile manner, I consider it a wise plan to return to our city, where, if he chooses to attack us, it will be lawful for us to repel force by force; and whether he allows us to make peace with him, or compels us to drive liim from our territory by force, our city will be preserved and our good name will remain unimpaired." All the rest acquiescing in this plan, they acted upon it, which was a pleasant sight to the emperor; however, that no fear or alarm might be shown on his part, he pmvsuecl them and prepared for a siege. Whilst all these events were passing, either by the instrumentality of the Roman church, or the enemies of the emperor, an internal discord was stirred up in the German provinces, by the duke of Austria, to quell which, letters and messengers were sent with all haste, explaining the great urgency of the case, and to summon him to return immediately. The emperor therefore raised the siege, for which he had made preparations, and returned into Germany, and the Milanese, on hearing this, seized by force on some castles, which the emperor had taken, and their garrisons, and put all the knights and soldiers of the emperor to death. When the emperor heard of this, he was much enraged, and not without good reason, and poured forth all his just indignation against the author of this evil; and punished the duke of Austria, by depriving him of his honours, lands, castles, and cities, scarcely granting him hislife; so that vengeance for the crime perpetrated by him against King Kichard, on his return from the Holy Land seemed even at this time unsatisfied, as the prophet says, "Although late, God severely punishes wickedness," and "visits the sins of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation."
In this year, about Michaelmas-day, Baldwin de Vere, a discreet, faithful, and eloquent man, returned to England and brought the emperors reply to the king, and gave a full account of all those matters to all who chose to listen to him.
About the same time, too, Peter, bishop of Winchester, returned from the continent, deprived of his bodily strength by disease. Near about the same time, too, namely on the Monday following that feast, deluges of rain fell in the northern parts of England, to such a degree that the rivers and lakes, overflowing their usual bounds, caused great damage by destroying bridges, mills, and other property near the banks.
In the same year, on the 16th of August, died Thomas de Blundeville, bishop of Norwich. And about the same time died William of Blois, bishop of Worcester, and Henry de SANFORD, bishop of Rochester. Thomas, abbat of Evesham, also died in this year, and was succeeded by Richard, prior of Hurle.
Chronica Majora. Before 24 Jun 1237. In the same year, the emperor Frederick (age 42), by special messengers and imperial letters, summoned all the great Christian princes of the world to assemble on the day of St. John the Baptist's nativity, at Vaucouleurs, which is on the confines, or near the confines, of the empire and the French kingdom, there to discuss some difficult matters concerning the empire as well as the kingdom. The king of France, as if entertaining suspicion of this conference, proceeded at the time fixed to the place appointed, attended by a large army, which he had assembled for the purpose, and thus set dreadful and pernicious example to others, inasmuch as he went to discuss matters of peace in the same way as he would to attack his enemies. The king of England (age 29) made reasonable excuses for not coming in person; but sent a peaceful embassy, consisting of some of the chief men of the kingdom; namely, Richard earl of Cornwall (age 28), his brother, with some other nobles, fit to manage a conference, under the guidance of the venerable archbishop of York (age 57) and the bishop of Ely, and other trustworthy persons selected for the purpose. The bishop of Winchester, although selected before all others, absolutely refused to go, and, not without reason, gave the following as the cause for excusing himself: "My lord king," said he "you lately laid a heavy complaint against me before the emperor, telling him that I, with some other nobles, disturbed your kingdom: whether you did this with justice, or unjustly, God knows; but I trust that I have saved my conscience in every respect. But if your words were now placed with confidence in my mouth and in your letters, and should declare that I was a familar and faithful friend of yours; all this would appear as contrary, and he would accuse both you and me of instability; and this would blacken your fame in a great degree. Therefore, because it would be manifestly to your dishonour, I will not go on any account." And in the opinion of many, this reply gave sufficient excuse for him. When all preparations had been made, and they were all ready to set sail on this journey, they were met by letters from the emperor, to say that he could not go to the conference then, as he had purposed; but that what he could not do then, should, by God's favour, be carried into effect on the Nativity of St. John the Baptist in the following year; and thus each and all of them returned without effecting anything. In this year, on the day of the Supper, the bishop of Hereford consecrated the holy unction in the church of St. Albans [Map]. About this time, too, John Scott (deceased), earl of Chester, closed his life about Whitsuntide, having been poisoned by the agency of his wife (age 19), the daughter of Llewellyn (age 65). The life of the bishop of Lincoln (age 69), too, was also attempted by the same means, and he was with difficulty recalled from the gates of death. In the same year, in the week before Whitsuntide, there fell storms of hail which exceeded the size of apples, killing the sheep; and they were followed by continued rain.
On 09 Jun 1238 Bishop Peter de Roches died.
Monumental Effigies. Bishop de Rupibus in Winchester Cathedral [Map]. Peter de Roches latinised as Peter de Rupibus ie Peter from the rocks.
Halesowen Abbey, Shropshire [Map] was a Premonstratensian Abbey founded by Bishop Peter de Roches in 1218.