Biography of Archbishop Robert Winchelsey 1245-1313

Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough. In the same year, the king issued letters summoning to London the archbishops, bishops, deans of cathedral churches, and archdeacons to appear in person, along with two proctors from the clergy of each diocese, to assemble before him on the Feast of Saint Matthew the Apostle [21st September 1294]. When they were gathered there, the king addressed them as follows: "Most beloved lords, it is now well known, as you have heard, of that famous war which has arisen between the king of France and us. It did not begin through any fault of ours, as God himself knows, but rather took its start by accident, without any deceit or treachery on our part. It has continued up to now at extraordinary cost. Yet, so that we might not be accused or condemned for waging an unjust war, we first offered peace to him, and both of us at first embraced the terms of peace. But although we were ready to uphold it on our part, as had been agreed, he rejected and scorned it, and the more earnestly we sought peace, the further we found ourselves from it. At last, seeing that we were thus being mocked, we began this war, which, even if necessary, we shall continue unto death for the sake of justice. But because I am only one man, and but a poor custodian of your land of England, not only is that land of yours, but the whole English Church now unjustly oppressed and placed in great straits, we cannot continue what we have begun unless we receive help from your land. Therefore we now seek your prayers and implore your aid. And you ought, dearest lords, especially for this reason, to give aid: you see your earls, barons, and knights not only offering their goods, but even their very bodies for your sakes and for the sake of your land, not only unto the shedding of blood, but more often even unto death. Therefore, since you cannot risk your bodies, it is just and reasonable that you give support from your goods."

He [King Edward I], wishing to placate them, for he knew they were disturbed due to the violation of ecclesiastical immunity, added the following remarks: "Because two recent actions have caused you concern, we desire to reassure you and offer an explanation. First, we ordered that all the wool of the land be seized; this was not done without reason, for it was our will that the land itself might be preserved unharmed by means of its own goods. Second, we were informed that the coinage of our land was debased and falsified; and so, we commanded that the regulations concerning the coinage be strictly observed, suspecting nothing evil. But in this matter it turned out as it did among the Apostles of Jesus Christ, among the twelve there was one bad man who betrayed Christ. Likewise, in this matter, certain individuals exceeded the limits of our command and deceived us. Therefore, we are ready to make amends according to your own will." When the king finished speaking, Oliver, Bishop of Lincoln, replied: "Lord, this matter requires deliberation; therefore, let a day be granted for consultation with our brothers, and we will respond with their advice." A third day was granted. In the meantime, consultation was difficult: the See of Canterbury was vacant¹, and thus its members, like a body without a head, were scattered and ineffective. John Romanus, Archbishop of York, out of fear of the king, because he owed him a large sum of money, chose to act as if indifferent. The Bishop of Durham had not yet returned from Germany.

Eodem anno vocavit rex per literas suas at London. archiepiscopos, episcopos, decanos ecclesiarum cathedralium, et archidiaconos, in propriis personis, clerumque uniuscujusque dioecesis per duos procuratores, ut in festo sancti Matthæi apostoli coram eo comparerent Londoniis. Quibus ibidem existentibus ait rex, "Domini carissimi, jam satis constat ut audistis de famosa ista guerra quæ inter regem Francourum et nos initium sumpsit; non nostra culpa, ut novit ipse Deus, sed absque ullo dolo vel fraude casualiter sumpsit initium, et usque in præsens sumptuosissime continuata est. Verum, ne ex injusto bello redargui possemus vel reprehendi, obtulimus ei primo pacem, et pacis formam uterque nostrum amplexatus est: quam cum ex parte nostra, ut convenit, servare parati essemus, ipse eam renuit et contempsit, et quanto magis pacem Edward I quæsivimus tanto magis eramus ab ea longius separati. Videntes autem nos finaliter sic illudi hanc guerram incepimus, etiam si necesse fuerit pro justitia nostra consequenda usque ad mortem continuandam; verum quia terræ vestræ Anglicanæ non sum nisi unus quasi malus custos, et non tantum ipsa terra vestra sed tota Anglicana ecclesia jam in arcto ponitur et movetur injuste, nec continuare possumus quod incepimus nisi de eadem terra vestra nobis auxilium tribuatur, idcirco orationes vestras in præsenti expetimus et vestrum auxilium implorantes. Et juste debetis, domini carissimi, et præcipue ista ratione impertiri auxilium, quoniam videtis comites, barones, et milites vestros, quod non solum bona, verum etiam corpora sua pro vobis exponunt et pro terra vestra non solum ad sanguinis effusionem, immo frequentius ad mortem. Et vos igitur, qui corpora vestra exponere non potestis, justum est et rationi consonum ut de bonis vestris subveniatis."

Adjecitque subsequentia, ut placaret eos; scivit enim eos esse motos pro immunitate ecclesiæ violata, et ait, "Quia recenter duo facta sunt in quibus admiramini, placare vobis volumus et in hac parte respondere. Præcepimus quod omnes lanæ terræ arestarentur, et hoc non sine causa fecimus, quia nostræ voluntatis fuit ut de bonis terræ ipsa terra conservaretur illæsa. Aliud est, datum fuit nobis intelligi quod moneta terræ nostræ corrupta fuit et falsata, unde præcepimus quod statutum monetæ in suo robore teneretur, nihil mali suspicantes; sed in hoc facto contigit sicut et accidit inter apostolos Jesu Christi, inter enim XII erat unus malus qui Christum tradidit, similiter et in hoc facto fines mandati nostri quidam egressi sunt et deceperunt nos, unde parati sumus emendas facere pro libito vestræ voluntatis." Cumque loquendi finem faceret, respondit Oliverus Lincolniensis episcopus: "Domine, istud negotium consilium requirit; detur igitur dies ad consulendum cum fratribus nostris et ex consilio respondendum:" Datusque est dies tertius; interim vero consulentes diversi diversa senserunt, vacabat enim Cantuariensis ecclesia et membra sine capite in consilio dispersa sunt; episcopus etiam Eborum Johannes Romanus regis timore perterritus, eo quod regi in magna pecuniæ summa tenebatur, quasi dissimulando constituit; Dunolmensis vero nondum reversus fuerat de Alemannia.

Note 1. Robert de Winchelsey (age 49) was elected on the 13th of February, 1293, but did not receive consecration till September, 1294, about the time when this contribution was exacted.

Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough. On the day after All Souls [3rd November 1296] of that same year, the king held his parliament at Bury St Edmunds, where, at his request, a twelfth penny was granted by the people, an eighth by the cities and boroughs, and a fifth by the clergy. It was answered, however, that neither the clergy could grant, nor the king receive, anything, unless both parties would incur the sentence of excommunication as contained in the bull. They added that they did not believe the king wished for this, nor would it be to his advantage. But the king was displeased with this reply, so the clergy were summoned to another parliament at London on the morrow of St Hilary [14th January 1297], in order that, with more time for deliberation, they might give a better answer. When the day came and the clergy were gathered there, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Master Robert of Winchelsey (age 51), having consulted with those sent on the king's behalf, gave this reply: "It is well known to you, my lords, and cannot be hidden, that under Almighty God we have two masters: a spiritual one and a temporal one. The spiritual is the pope, and the temporal is our lord the king. Though we owe obedience to both, we owe more to the spiritual than to the temporal. Nevertheless, wishing to please both, we agree and intend at our own expense to send special messengers to our spiritual father the pope, to ask for permission to grant this, or at least to receive his instruction on what we should do. We also believe that our lord the king, just like us, fears and seeks to avoid the excommunication contained in the bull." To this, the king's envoys replied: "Choose among yourselves certain persons who will report these words to the king on your behalf; for we, knowing his anger is already kindled, dare not relay such a message." When they did so, the king's fury ignited, and burning with wrath, he placed the Archbishop of Canterbury and the whole English clergy outside of his protection and favour, ordering that all church lands, even the endowed lands, throughout England be seized into his hands. And as many believed, it happened miraculously that on the very same day the king excluded the clergy from his protection, his soldiers in Gascony were routed and defeated by the French, as will be shown later. Furthermore, the king's chief justice, seated on the bench, declared publicly before all: "You, the attorneys of archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, and all other clergy: tell your lords that from now on no justice will be granted to them in the king's court, no matter how grievous the injury they may have suffered. But justice will be done against them for all who bring complaints and seek it." Astonishing to say! The common justice granted to all the people is, by some strange spirit, denied to the clergy, and Mother Church, who once ruled over her sons, now serves and is enslaved by them. Now, Henry of Newark, elected archbishop of York, along with the bishops of Durham, Ely, Salisbury, and others, fearing the king's great wrath, and sensing grave danger approaching, arranged to voluntarily deposit a fifth of their church income for that year in sacred places, claiming it was for the defence of the English Church in its urgent need, so they might escape the king's wrath without violating the pope's bull. Yet whatever the clergy deposited, the royal treasury seized; and so, those who arranged and gave a fifth under that guise won back royal protection. But the Archbishop of Canterbury held firm. He would neither agree to the tax nor deposit anything, choosing instead to suffer the king's wrath rather than fall under the sentence of excommunication. As a result, all his goods were seized, his gold and silver vessels taken, and all his horses confiscated. His household abandoned him, and nothing remained from which even a poor man of Christ could be fed. The king issued a strict command that no one, monastic or lay, should give him shelter, under pain of forfeiture. Thus was the Apostle's exhortation "Welcome one another as Christ welcomed you", emptied of meaning. He remained cast out, sheltering in the house of a humble parish priest, with only a chaplain and one clerk, having nowhere in his entire archbishopric to lay his head. Still, he preached the word of God boldly, begging publicly, and protesting everywhere that all who gave the king or any secular person anything without the pope's consent had without doubt fallen into the bull's sentence of excommunication, always declaring himself ready to die for the Church of God. Meanwhile, the friends of Oliver, Bishop of Lincoln, though he too had refused the king's demands, arranged that the Sheriff of Lincoln take a fifth of the bishop's goods, after which his lands and possessions were restored to him. All the monasteries of his diocese and of the province of Canterbury had also been seized into the king's hands, with custodians appointed to provide the religious only with bare necessities, the rest going to the treasury. So abbots and priors, compelled by necessity, approached the king's court, not to confess sins, but to ransom back their own goods, paying a fourth. At that time, no justice was available to the clergy, and they suffered many injuries. Monks and other religious were robbed of their horses on public roads, and they received no justice until they paid for royal protection through a redemption fee.

In crastino Animarum ejusdem anni tenuit rex The clergy parliamentum suum apud Sanctum Edmundum, ubi, ad rogatum ipsius, concessus est duodecimus denarius a populo, octavus a civitatibus et burgis, a clero quintus. Responsum est, quod nec ipsi dare vel concedere, nec ipse quicquam accipere posset, nisi uterque eorum sententiam excommunicationis incurreret in bulla latam; quod tamen regem velle non credebant, nec sibi expedire sciebant. Sed non placuit regi responsum hoc, unde adjornati sunt ad aliud parliamentum Londoniis in crastino Sancti Hilarii, ut interim cum deliberatione consulti melius responderent. Adveniente tandem die, et ibidem clero congregato, Cantuariensis archiepiscopus, magister Robertus de Wynchelse, communicato consilio hiis qui a facie regis' mittebantur, respondit in hæc verba: "Satis vobis constat, domini mei, nec latere potest, quod sub omnipotenti Deo duos etiam dominos habemus, spiritualem scilicet et temporalem; spiritualem vero dominum papam, et temporalem dominum nostrum regem; et quamvis utrique obedientiam debeamus, majorem tamen temporali quam spirituali. Verum ut placere possimus utrique, concedimus et mittere volumus sumptibus nostris nuncios nostros spciales ad ipsum patrem spiritualem dominum papam, ut licentiam ad concedendum habere possimus, vel saltem responsum habeamus ab ipso quid facere debeamus: credimus etiam dominum nostrum regem, sicut et nos, ipsam excommunicationis sententiam in bulla latam et timere et effugere velle." Ad hæc nuncii regis: "Ordinate ex vobis, domini carissimi, personas certas, qui talia domino regi ex parte vestra. renuncient; nos enim, scientes indignationem ejus accensam, veremur omnino talia nunciare." Quod cum ipsi fecissent, mox furor regis insævit, They are et excandens in iram, ipsum Cantuariensem archiepiscopum cum toto clero Anglicano extra suam defensionem et protectionem posuit; præcepitque ut omnes terræ etiam dotales totius ecclesiæ Anglicanæ in manum ipsius seisirentur. Et, ut creditur, miraculose contigit, eadem enim die qua extra protectionem suam rex clerum posuerat," confusi sunt milites sui in Vasconia, et a Francis devicti, ut infra patet. Justitiarius etiam regis in banco ex parte regis pro tribunali sedens, omnibus circumstantibus publice dixit, "Vos domini attornati archiepiscoporum, episcoporum, abbatum et priorum, cæterarumque personarum omnium ex clero, nunciate dominis vestris et dicite,' quod de cætero in curia domini regis nulla fiet eis justitia de quacunque re, etiam si illata fuerit eis injuria atrocissima. Justitia tamen de eis fiet omnibus conquerentibus, et eam habere volentibus. Mirabile dictu! communis justitia quæ populo conceditur, nescio quo spiritu, ipsi clero denegatur, ancillaturque et servit mater ecclesia, quæ solebat antiquitus filiis dominari." Electus autem Eborum Henricus de Newerk, item Dunolmensis, Eliensis, Salesbiriensis episcopi,' et quidam alii, timentes iram regis maximam, et conjecturantes grave periculum imminere, ordinaverunt se deponere velle in æde sacra quintam partem bonorum ecclesiasticorum illius anni, ad tuitionem ecclesiæ Anglicanæ, et defensionem urgentissimæ necessitatis, ut sic iram regis evaderent, et sententiam in bulla latam non incurrerent. Quicquid tamen deponebat clerus, tollebat fiscus; et sic ordinantes, et sub colore quintam partem concedentes, protectionem regis consecuti sunt. Canterbury's tuariensis vero archiepiscopus, animum non mutans, nec concedere nec deponere quicquam voluit, elegitque potius iram regis quam sententiam excommunicationis incurrere; unde seisita sunt omnia bona sua, et vasa ejus aurea et argentea occupata sunt, et equi omnes; recesseruntque ab eo familiares ejus, nec remansit quicquam unde Christi pauper aleretur; præceptumque est, sub gravi forisfactura regis, ne quis eum hospitio susciperet in monasterio vel extra, evacuatumque est illud apostoli, "Suscipite invicem sicut et Christus suscepit vos:" mansitque sic ejectus in domo cujusdam simplicis rectoris, cum solo sacerdote et uno clerico, non habens ex toto archiepiscopatu ubi caput reponeret; constanter tamen egit in verbo Domini, publice mendicans, et ubique protestans omnes qui vel regi vel personæ seculari præter voluntatem domini papæ quicquam concederent, in canonem latæ sententiæ eo facto proculdubio incidisse, semper existens paratus ad moriendum pro ecclesia Dei. Amici vero Lincolniensis episcopi Oliveri, etiam ipso voluntatem regis non ratificante, procuraverunt tamen quod vicecomes Lincolniensis, levata quinta parte de bonis ipsius episcopi, extunc ei possessiones et terras restitueret. Omnia etiam monasteria episcopatus ipsius, et totius provinciæ Cantuariensis, seisita fuerant in manum regis, et ex præcepto ipsius custodes appositi qui ipsis religiosis solummodo necessaria ministrarent, et reliqua converterentur in fiscum. Unde abbates et priores necessitate compulsi curiam regis adierunt, non peccata quidem sed bona propria redimentes, data quarta. Nulla tunc temporis fiebat justitia clero, et passi sunt clerici injurias multas. Religiosi etiam in via regia equis suis spoliabantur, et nullam consecuti sunt justitiam, quousque, redemptione facta, eis daretur regia protectio.

Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough. Meanwhile, the time drew near for the bishop to undertake the promised journey, and he began to appease the lord king more than usual, promising and assuring that he would do justice and provide good and faithful ministers; and his liberty was restored to him. At that same time, around the [1st August 1303], the aforesaid Prior Richard returned from the curia, and was received with joy by his brethren of Durham in the third year of his expulsion.¹ The lord bishop then set his steps towards the Roman curia, but not, however, as he had promised, because Pope Boniface, mentioned above, had died. Pope Benedict having succeeded him, the lord bishop sought to be granted, for the purpose of carrying out the aforesaid business of the Holy Land, the tithes of the English Church, and also of Scotland and Ireland, for three continuous years. But he was mocked, and again poured out the very bowels of his wealth. He only managed to obtain that the Archbishop of Canterbury (age 58) and the Bishops of Winchester and Lincoln should come in person to visit the chapter of Durham and make salutary corrections, both in head and in members. For the Bishop of Durham did not wish to conduct the visitation himself, because Pope Boniface had restricted him by issuing a special constitution on the matter (which begins Ad Audientiam), providing that the Bishops of Durham should not henceforth make a visitation except with only one religious [companion], and one cleric, and one notary. The bishop then returned to England, and in that same year Pope Benedict died; and thus, with the death of the one giving the mandate, the mandate itself expired. Afterwards, the aforesaid prior laid many complaints before the king's ears, and they could not be reconciled until the king's parliament at London, in Lent of the fourth year following.

Interim appropinquavit tempus episcopi, ut promissum iter arriperet, et incepit plus solito placare dominum regem, promisitque et assecuravit justitiam facere, et ministros præstare bonos et fideles, et restituta est ei libertas sua. Eodem tempore circa festum beati Petri ad Vincula, prædictus prior Ricardus reversus est de curia, et a fratribus suis Dunolmensibus cum gaudio susceptus est in anno tertio ejectionis suæ; et dominus episcopus ad Romanam curiam direxit gressus suos, non tamen ut promiserat, quia obierat Bonifacius papa prædictus. Succedente vero eidem papa Benedicto, dominus episcopus pro exequendo prædicto negotio Terræ Sanctæ decimas Anglicanæ ecclesiæ, Scotia et Hiberniæ, per tres annos continuos concedi sibi petiit. Sed irrisus est, effuditque iterato viscera pecuniæ suæ. Et solummodo impetravit, quod Cantuariensis archiepiscopus, Wintoniensis et Lincolniensis episcopi personaliter venirent et visitarent capitulum Dunolmense, et correctiones salubres facerent, tam in capite quam in membris. Noluit enim Dunolmensis episcopus visitare per se, eo quod dominus papa Bonifacius limitaverat eum, faciendo super hoc constitutionem specialem, (quæ "Ad Audientiam" incipit,) quod Dunolmenses episcopi non visitabunt de cætero, nisi cum uno religioso tantum, et uno clerico, et uno tabellione. Reversusque est episcopus in Angliam, et in eodem anno mortuus est ille papa Benedictus: et sic mortuo mandatore, expiravit mandatum. Deposuitque subsequenter prædictus prior ad aures regis querelas multas, nec concordari poterant usque ad parliamentum regis Londoniis, in Quadragesima anni quarti subsequentis.

Note 1. Godwin says the Prior of Durham died on his return home before reaching England.

Close Rolls Edward II 1307-1313. 9th February 1308 King Edward II of England (age 23). Dover, Kent [Map]. To Alice, late wife of Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk and Marshall of England. Order to meet the king at Dover, Kent [Map] on his return from France with his consort about Sunday next after the Feast of the Purification of St Mary. Witnessed by Piers Gaveston 1st Earl Cornwall (age 24).

The like to:

Elizabeth, Countess of Hereford and Essex (age 25).

Henry de Lancastre (age 27).

Robert de Monte Alto.

Almaric de Sancto Amando[Ibid].

To R Archbishop of Canterbury (age 63). Order to attend the king's coronaion on Sunday next after the feast of St Valentine [14 Feb] at Westminster [Map], to execute what pertains to his office.

To the Sheriff of Surrey. Order to proclaim in market towns, etc., that no knight, esquire, or other shall, under pain of forfeiture, pressure to tourney or make jousts or bordices (torneare, justos seu burdseicas facere), or otherwise go armed at Croydon, Surrey [Map] or elsewhere before the king's coronation.

On 3rd November 1311 Piers Gaveston 1st Earl Cornwall (age 27) exiled by "The New Ordinances", a series of regulations imposed upon King Edward II by the peerage and clergy of the Kingdom of England to restrict the power of the English monarch. The twenty-one signatories, consisting of eight earls, seven bishops and six barons, of the Ordinances are referred to as the Lords Ordainers:

Earls:

John Capet 4th Earl Richmond (age 45)

Henry Lacy 4th Earl Lincoln, Earl Salisbury

Guy Beauchamp 10th Earl Warwick (age 39)

Gilbert de Clare 8th Earl Gloucester 7th Earl Hertford (age 20)

Aymer de Valence 2nd Earl Pembroke (age 36)

Bishops:

Archbishop Robert Winchelsey (age 66)

Barons:

Hugh de Vere 1st Baron Vere (age 54)

Hugh Courtenay, Baron of Okehampton (age 35).

William Marshal 1st Baron Marshal (age 34)

Robert Clifford 1st Baron Clifford (age 37)

Article 20 describes at length the offences committed by Gaveston; he was once more condemned to exile and was to abjure the realm by 1 November.