Life of Edward II by a Monk of Malmesbury. Accordingly, on the fifth or sixth day [19th or 18th June 1320] before the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, the lord king crossed over to France. May God, in His mercy, preserve him safely and bring him safely back to England. The king had been preceded by his brother Edmund, Bartholomew de Badlesmere and certain others, who were travelling to the Roman Curia on business concerning the lord king. At that time, the episcopal see of Lincoln was vacant. Before the king's departure, however, the canons, having obtained permission, unanimously agreed upon the election of a pastor. The man chosen, Master Antony Bek, was noble and well mannered, a master of theology, and entirely suitable for the Church of Lincoln. He was a kinsman of the distinguished Antony Bek, formerly Bishop of Durham and Patriarch of Jerusalem. Bartholomew had a nephew1 who was capable for his age, although he had not yet reached twenty-five. Through Bartholomew's influence, the King of England was persuaded to petition the lord pope to appoint the young man to the episcopal see in question. The King of France also made the request, as did Edmund, the King of England's brother, and all of them praised the young man, commending him to the lord pope in many ways. The lord pope, therefore, moved by the entreaties of so many great men, annulled the earlier election and placed the young man at the head of the Church of Lincoln. This was indeed an astonishing act, because it was done against both law and reason. It had neither been seen nor previously heard that so young a man should be made a bishop. It was contrary to law, because no one under the age of thirty could lawfully ascend the pastoral throne, and contrary to reason, because no one chooses young men as leaders, since it is not established that they possess prudence. Solomon indeed regards the way of a young man in his youth as one of the most uncertain of all uncertain things. It is an astonishing and ridiculous presumption in this age that a young man should be placed upon the pastoral throne. A young man may happen to be raised to kingship, but it is not fitting for young men to be made bishops, because lineage and natural descent are considered in a prince, whereas virtue and learning are required in a bishop. Among flocks and herds, the boar, ram or bull that surpasses the others in strength and boldness becomes their leader and master, but this order is not observed among rational beings. Today, the less a man knows, the more boldly he presumes to place himself before his betters. One who has learnt nothing becomes the teacher of others and, like sounding brass or a clashing cymbal, usurps the office of preaching, though he is an useless block and a mute idol. An unlearned bishop is indeed a speechless herald. Among the ancients, the condition of wise men was held in immeasurable honour. Today, however, wisdom is trampled underfoot as something cheap and contemptible, while, through a certain abominable reversal, folly is raised to a place of honour. This is what Ecclesiastes laments when he says, "I saw an evil beneath the sun, a fool placed in high dignity, and wise men sitting below."
Igitur quinto sextove die ante Nativitatem Sancti Johannis Baptistæ transfretavit dominus rex in Franciam, quem Deus pro sua pietate salvo custodiat et salvo reducat in Angliam. Precesserant autem regem frater ejus Edmundus, Bartholomæus Badesmere, et quidam alii pro quibusdam negotiis domini regis ad curiam Romanam profeeturi. Eo tempore vacabat in Anglia sedes episcopalis Lyncolniensis, sed canonici ante recessum regis optenta licentia unanimiter consentiebant de electione pastoris, qui quidem, magister Antonius de Bek nominatus, fuit generosus et morigeratus, et magister erat theologiæ, ecclesiæ Lyncolniensi satis ydoneus, illius egregii Antonii de Bek quondam Dunelmensis episcopi et patriarchæ Jerosolimitani consanguineus. Habebat dietus Bartholomæus nepotem qui pro ætate industris crat. Nondum cnim xxv. annos attigerat. Procurante itaque Bartholomæo inductus est rex Angliæ supplicare domino papæ pro juvene, ut ad dictam sedem episcopalem dignaretur cum assumere. Rogabat et rex Franciæ, et Edmundus frater regis Angliæ, et laudabant juvenem omnes, personam ipsius apud dominum papam multipliciter recommendantes. Sic igitur dominus papa, tot et tantorum precibus sollicitatus, priorem electionem cassavit, et juvenem illum ecclesiæ Lyncolniensi præfecit. Mirabile quidem factum, quia contra legem et rationem actum: nec visum nec prius auditum ut tam juvenis præficeretur in episcopum: contra legem, cum nemo citra xxx annos de jure cathedram pastoralem possit ascendere, contra rationem quia nemo juvenes eligit duces, eo quod non constat eos esse prudentes. Nam et Salomon incertissimum reputat inter omnia incerta viam adolescentis in juventute sua. Siquidem admiranda sæculo et ridiculosa! præsumptio, dum juvenis pastorali locatur in solio. Juvenem contingit ad regnum sublimari, sed bene non congruit juvenes episcopari, quia sanguis et natura attenditur in principe, sed virtus et scientia requiritur in episcopo. In gregibus et armentis aper, aries cet taurus, corpore et animositate præstantior, ceterorum erit minator et ductor, sed inter rationales hie ordo non servatur. Hodie enim quanto quis minus sapit, tanto audacius melioribus ante eum esse præsumit. Qui nichil didicit aliorum doctor efficitur, et quasi æs sonans aut cimbalum usurpat prædicationis officum, cum sit cuneus inutilis et ydolum mutum. Nam episcopus illiteratus præco est mutus. Apud veteres erat conditio sapientum inæstimabiliter venerabilis Hodie vero prudentia tanquam vilis et abjecta calcatur; et quadam abhominabili mutatione stultitia in sublimi præponitur. Hoc est quod Ecclesiastes deplorando conqueritur. "Vidi," inquit, "malum quod est sub sole, stultum in sublimi dignitate positum, et sapientes sedere deorsum."
Note 1. Henry Burghesh, 1292-1340, son of Robert, 1st Baron Burghesh and Maud Badlesmere. Appointed Bishop of Lincoln in 1320, Treasurer in 1327, and Chancellor in 1328.
