Alexander Stavensby

Alexander Stavensby (also Alexander of Stainsby or Alexander Wendock ) († December 26, 1238 in Andover ) was an English clergyman. He was a respected theologian who eventually became Bishop of Coventry. He served the English king as a diplomat several times, especially with the papal curia .

Origin and career as a theologian

In all likelihood, Alexander Stavensby came from Stainsby near Ashby Puerorum in Lincolnshire , which gave him his nickname. His brothers Gilbert and Master William of Stainsby owned property at Stainsby. His parents' names are controversial, as is his schooling. He could have been a pupil of Stephen Langton , the future Archbishop, who came from the village of Langton-by-Wragby , about 15 kilometers from Stavensby . Stavensby is first mentioned in 1216 when he, along with other members of Archbishop Langton's household, testified to an agreement brokered by Langton. According to early information from the Dominican Order , Stavensby taught theology in Toulouse in 1215 , where the later founder of the order Dominic is said to have counted among his students. Like Dominic, he is said to have moved to Bologna later , from where he worked for Pope Honorius III before 1224 . kicked. This theory is quite possible, because there is evidence that a Master Alexander taught theology in Bologna between 1221 and 1223 . Later, as bishop, Stainsby established Dominican settlements in Chester and Derby and helped set up the Order's branch in Oxford . Several members of his episcopal household belonged to the mendicant order , including his brother, the theologian Master Richard of Stainsby, and Alexander of Hales († 1245), who later became the first Franciscan to receive a doctorate in theology at the University of Paris .

Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield

After the death of Bishop William of Cornhill of Coventry, the monks of the Benedictine Abbey of Coventry elected their prior as the new Bishop of Coventry , who, however, did not receive the approval of the secular canons of Lichfield . Archbishop Langton also rejected the election, instead he proposed Stavensby, who was living at the papal court at the time, as a new candidate. Pope Honorius III. accepted this proposal and appointed Stavensby as the new bishop in 1224. During Stavensby's tenure, Lichfield became an equal seat of the bishop with Coventry , and from about 1226 Stavensby referred to himself as Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield . The dispute over future episcopal elections was resolved by the fact that Coventry and Lichfield would take turns to elect the bishops. In a long legal battle in 1236, Stavensby fought for permission to visit Coventry Abbey. Trying to put an end to the grievances in many monasteries, he hired secular clerics in many parish churches who had previously been looked after by monks. The income from these churches he transferred in part to the secular canons of Lichfield, whose possessions he expanded. To this end, he created new canon positions , for the maintenance of which he used part of the proceeds from St. Peter's penny , the outdated levy to the Pope. He expanded the temporalities of his diocese through land purchases , and he continued the construction of Lichfield Cathedral .

Diplomat in the service of the king

King Henry III and his government often used the world-experienced Stavensby as a diplomat. In 1224 he negotiated with the rebellious Falkes de Bréauté during the siege of Bedford Castle . He traveled several times to France and Wales to agree or extend armistices, and in 1227 he was a member of the legation that negotiated in Antwerp with envoys of the Roman-German Emperor Frederick II . In 1226, 1227, 1228 and 1234 he traveled to Rome on behalf of the king, negotiating with Pope Gregory IX in 1228 . about a new candidate to succeed the late Archbishop Stephen Langton, of whom he was also the executor. Stavensby was commissioned several times to rule as papal judge over church disputes in England. Politically, Stavensby supported Archbishop Stephen Langton. In 1233 he was one of the bishops who opposed the government led by Peter des Roches , Bishop of Wichester. In January 1234, during a session of the Privy Council, he was accused of supporting Richard Marshal's rebellion against the government. Stavensby firmly rejected this. In return, he excommunicated Peter des Roches and his followers, who for him were the real enemies of the king, and thus contributed to the overthrow of des Roches. He died in Andover in late 1238 , where he was supposed to assist a papal commissioner. On his deathbed he donated a hospital in Denhall on the Wirral Peninsula , which was supposed to care for the poor as well as the castaways in the Irish Sea . He was buried in Lichfield Cathedral.

Aftermath

In spite of Stavensby's teaching activities, in addition to documents that he issued as bishop, only two short treatises have survived, one of which deals with the seven deadly sins , the other with faith. As bishop he issued diocesan statutes that contain a remarkable number of biblical quotations. She and his treatises are shaped by a reformist approach to teaching, preaching and penance and show that Stainsby was shaped by the Dominicans as well as Stephen Langton and the University of Paris. It appears that Stainsby wrote his own treatise, though there were a number of excellent scholars in his household.

literature

• Nicholas Vincent: Master Alexander of Stainsby, bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, 1224-1238. In: Journal of Ecclesiastical History. 46, 1995, pp. 615-640.
• Nicholas Vincent: Stainsby, Alexander of (d. 1238). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004

predecessor	Office	successor
William of Cornhill	Bishop of Coventry (from about 1226 Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield) 1224–1238	Hugh of Pattishall