Bishop Henry Despencer 1341-1406

Westminster Chronicle. Meanwhile the king of England, fearing that danger threatened the town of Calais, both because of the scarcity of provisions and because of the lack of fighting men, gathered provisions from every side and sent them, with a multitude of armed men, to Calais for the protection of the town. For two days and three nights before the feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle [21st December 1382] there was an unceasing flood of rain. Because of this, throughout various parts of England, the flow of waters increased so greatly that immense damage to crops and other things followed. On the day of the aforesaid apostle, the bishop of Norwich [aged 41]¹ took the cross, and likewise raised it, in the church of Saint Paul, on the steps before the door of the choir, with the bishop of London performing the solemnities. On that day the weather was clear and cloudless, offering some happy omen. And because this solemnity was unfamiliar and unknown to the English, the bishop searched in every cathedral church for the form of so great an act, but, finding it nowhere, discovered the fullest form of this observance only in the church of Westminster.

Interim rex Angliæ metuens villæ de Caleys imminere periculum tum propter paucitatem victualium tum propter defectum bellatorum, undique victualia collecta cum multitudine armatorum Calesiam transmisit villam in tutelam. Per duos dies et tres noctes ante festum sancti Thomæ apostoli indesinens erat inundatio pluviarum unde per diversas partes Angliæ in tantum augebatur aquarum discursus ut exinde sequeretur frugum et aliarum rerum immensum detrimentum. In die prædicti apostoli episcopus Northwycensis sumpsit crucem pariter et erexit in ecclesia sancti Pauli super gradus ante ostium chori, peragente solemnia episcopo Londonensi. Ipso die clara fuit et sine nube temperies, aliquod felix auspicium offerens, et quia invisa fuit et incognita Anglis ista solemnitas ubique in omni ecclesia cathedrali scrutatus est episcopus formam tanti facti ; sed nullibi reperiens solum in ecclesia Westmonasterii plenissimam hujus observationis invenit formam.

Note 1. Henry le Despenser, around 1341-1406, known as the 'Fighting Bishop' for his part in suppressing the Peasants' Revolt. He was appointed Bishop of Norwich in 1370. In 1382 Pope Urban VI had proclaimed a crusade led by Henry Despenser against the antipope Robert of Geneva who took the name Clement VII, who King Charles VI of France supported.

Westminster Chronicle. Around the end of parliament, the chancellor of England addressed the bishop of Norwich [aged 42] in this way, before the king and the magnates of the realm: "Lord bishop, you have your sword carried before you everywhere, as though you were a temporal¹ lord. Put away your sword, because the king is offended by this, and the other temporal lords complain of it with grave murmuring. You should also conduct yourself henceforth as it befits a bishop to conduct himself. Moreover, lord bishop, at the request of the commons, as you desired, the king appointed you governor of his wars, to last for one full year, so that you might manfully fight his enemies wherever they should happen to meet you. For this you received a great sum of money from the king, and finally you promised to observe the aforesaid matters without delay. But now, with almost half the year having passed, you leave your promise unfulfilled, and, with the treasure of the land consumed without an expedition, you have brought the state of the wars almost to nothing." The bishop, however, somewhat stunned by these words, gave no excusable answer to the charges. But, like a man surrounded on all sides by his enemies and unable to avoid loss, he lost what he could lose, namely his temporalities. These were very quickly taken from him and immediately sequestered into the king’s hand. The king, however, consoled the bishop and urged him not to be at all afraid, protesting that he would be sufficiently favourable to him, whatever had at that time been judged there. These things were done, as was said, on the Friday immediately before the end of parliament, the dominical letter being D.

Circa finem vero parliamenti sic allocutus est cancellarius Angliæ episcopo Northwycensi coram rege et regni magnatibus. "Domine episcope vos habetis gladium vestrum delatum coram vobis ubilibet sicut dominus temporalis. Deporatis gladium vestrum quia ob hoc offenditur rex et ceteri domini temporales inde gravi murmure conqueruntur. Habeatis etiam vos de cetero secundum quod episcopo deceat se habere. Præterea, domine episcope, ad petitionem comitatum prout desiderastis rex præfecit vos gubernatorem guerrarum suarum per unum annum integre duraturum, ad debellandum viriliter hostes suos ubicunque contingerent vobis occurrere, magna summa pecuniæ perinde a rege accepta, finaliterque promisistis præmissa indilate servare, at nunc medietate anni fere transacta promissum relinquitis incompletum thesauroque terræ sine expeditione absumpto, status guerrarum quasi in nibilum adduxistis." Episcopus vero ad hæc quodammodo stupefactus excusabile responsum ad objecta minime protulit, sed sieut homo undique suis inimicis vallatus, dispendium evitare non valens, ea quæ potuit amittere scilicet temporalia sua ab eo quantocius erant ablata et in manu regis protinus sequestrata. Rex vero consolatus ‘est episcopum et hortatus est eum ne ullatenus expavescat protestans quod satis favorabilis sibi existeret quiequid ibidem protunc extitit judicatum. Acta sunt hæc ut dicebatur, feria vi^a proxime ante finem parliamenti, litera dominicalis D.

Note 1. Temporal Lords i.e. Dukes, Earls and Barons, as opposed to Spiritual Lords i.e. Archbishops and Bishops.

Westminster Chronicle. Also, on the twentieth day of October, the king held his parliament at Westminster, in which many matters were raised and proposed on either side by the commons for the salvation of the realm, some of which will be described below. On the fourth day of the parliament, the bishop of Norwich [aged 44] had restitution of his temporalities, which temporalities he had lost at the will of the lords in a certain parliament immediately after he came back from Flanders, as has been related above. At that time the Scots secretly entered England and devastated the town of Hexham, together with the whole adjoining district, with their customary plundering and burnings. And indeed, the losses now inflicted upon us by them exceed those which our army had lately imposed upon them in Scotland. For although our northern men once flourished in great valour, now, with the wind changed, they have become idle and witless, and scorn to guard their country by watches or sentries against the ambushes of enemies. Therefore, through their negligence and sloth, it has happened that they have lost their country and their goods by misfortune. And certainly, perhaps, they would have lost much greater things in the meantime had it not been for the courage and nobility of Sir Henry Percy [aged 21], who, after the lord king had withdrawn with his army from Scotland, fought with the Scots five times and always carried off victory over them.

Item xx die Octobris tenuit rex suum parliamentum apud Westmonasterium in quo multa per communitatem pro salvatione regni fuerunt mota et hinc inde proposita, quorum aliqua inferius describentur. Quarto die parliamenti episcopus Northwycensis habuit restitutionem suorum temporalium, quæ quidem temporalia statim postquam venit de Flandria in quodam parliamento ad nutum dominorum amisit, quomodo est supra relatum. Quo in tempore Scoti latenter Angliam intraverunt et villam de Exham cum tota provincia adjacenti rapinis et incendiis solitis devastabant. Et profecto ista dispendia nobis jam per illos inflicta excedunt ea quæ dudum noster exercitus illis in Scotia irrogabat. Quamvis enim nostri boreales olim multa strenuitate vigebant nunc vero mutato velo desides et vecordes effecti eorum patriam vigiliis sive excublis ab inimicorum insidiis custodiæ contemnunt. Unde causante illorum negligentia et desidia accidit illis patriam perdere ac bona eorum fortuna. Et pro certo multo majora medio tempore forsitan amisissent nisi magnanimitas et nobilitas domini Henrici de Percy fuisset qui cum Scotis post recessum domini regis cum exercitu suo de Scotia quinquies dimicavit et de eis semper victoriam reportavit.

Archaeologia Volume 22 Section XVI. The Bishopp of Norwiche ys shamefully used at his owne towne of Lynne.^m

A lytle [small tyme] after Æster the Bishopp of Norwiche comynge to Lynne, hys owne towne, not content with the accustomed honour that the bishopps, his predecessors had, sought to have a new honour; therefor, seyng the mayor of the towne, when he publikely walked through the streetes to have the sergeant go before hym, carryinge the mace in hys handes where soever he went, & supposynge hymselffe, for that he was lord of the towne, to be above the mayor, he requested of the cheif men of the towne, that that honoure myght be done unto hym whiche was doone unto a mayor. In very deede before the bishop the verger ys accustomed only to cary a rodd, typped with blacke horne at bothe endes. The maisters [aldermen] of the towne answear very courtly, that they were well pleased he shold have that honour, yf he colde by a good meanes, & without the offence of the commons of the towne, obteyne such a custome of the kynge or the kynge's councell, and brynge in the saime, otherwyse they sayed, that they feared the common people, that was unconstant and prompt to sedition, for the vulgar sort of that towne wolde stone them yf they sholde suffer suche a custome to be broughte in; therfore they desyre hym, upon there knees, that he wolde desyst from such a petition, that he wolde save hys owne honoure & the aldermen, whoe, without doubt, were in thys case in great daunger yf he persysted in hys purpose. The bishopp, but a young man & unbrydled,ⁿ supposinge thys humilytye of the towne's men to come only for feare of hym, usynge the councell of Roboum, answeared that he wolde in no wyse doo that whiche they requested, yea he wolde doo that whiche he had purposed, in the spyte of them all, whom he called ribauldes. He also dyd chyde the aldermen of the towne for there faynte hartes, for that they sayed they feared the common people of the towne, whome he esteemed as nothynge. All hearynge the bishopp's obstinacye, very humbly they say unto hym: for that, reverend father, (say they) you affyrme that you will altogeather doo that thynge even as you have sayed, we beseache you to have us excused, that we honourably conduct you without the towne & doo oure due reverence unto you; for truly we feare not only oure skyns, but also our lyves, for yf the comonaltye perceave us to cleave unto you att this present in this act, all the deeds sholde be imputed unto us, & so perchaunce we sholde, without cause, suffer punyshment. But the bishoppe, nothynge estemynge them or there reasons, commanded one of his servaunts to taike the mace & to cary yt before hym, whiche was doone, and when he had gone a lytle forwardes, the commons of the towne perceavynge (as they affyrmed) that agaynst the libertyes of the towne he had erected the mace, & caryed the sayme before hym in the sayme towne, psently they began to shutt the gates, to bende there bowes, & shoote att hym with arrowes, divers with other instruments persecuted hym; wherefore yt came to passe that he was stricken from hys horse, & hys horse hurte, & dyvers of hys men (for that yt was nere nyghte) were grevously wounded of the arrowe fliynge in darkenes, they certein of his men leavynge hym there fledd away.

Note m. This story is quoted in Blomefield's Norfolk (vol. ii. p. 368, fol.) from Fox, who has apparently (as in the instance referred to in a former note) translated it in his own words from the St. Alban's History. He has by mistake (as Blomefield has observed) substituted Lennam for Lynn. The town of Lanham, or Lavenham, in Suffolk, never belonged to the bishop, and has no corporation. Lenna, as Blomefield remarks, is the old Latin word for Lynn. It is rightly translated in the MS. copied in the text, and it is correctly given in Archbishop Sudbury's interdict issued on the occasion, and printed in Wilkins's Concilia, vol. iii. p. 118.

Note n. This "young and unbridled" bishop was Henry Spencer, called the warlike Bishop of Norwich, whom Archbishop Parker describes to have been militiae quam theologiae peritior i.e. "skill in warfare rather than in theology.". He had been a soldier in his youth, and a commander in the army of the Pope, who preferred him to the see of Norwich. In 1383, when youth could no longer be his apology (for he had then been thirteen years a bishop), he raised a large army in defence of the Papal authority, and led it into Flanders. On his return he was fined and disgraced, but was subsequently pardoned. In his Life by Capgrave, printed in Wharton's Anglia Sacra, vol. ii. p. 359, his conduct is defended, and his character extolled for a strict regard to justice, and for liberality towards the poor.