Anian (bishop)

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Anian (also Einion ) († between May 1305 and January 12, 1307) was a Welsh clergyman. From 1267 he was Bishop of Bangor .

Origin and promotion to bishop

Anian was most likely a native of Welsh and came from North Wales. He was Archdeacon of Anglesey when he was elected Bishop of the Welsh Diocese of Bangor by the Cathedral Chapter of Bangor after November 8, 1267 . On December 12, 1267, the English King Henry III confirmed. His election and Anian was ordained bishop in Canterbury before the end of the year . On January 5, 1268, he received the diocesan temporalities .

Role in the conflict between Lord Llywelyn and the English crown

During the first fifteen years of his tenure as bishop Anian standing whose territory the heartland of a diocese, before the impossible task as Bishop Principality of Wales , both Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd to serve as well as the English Archbishop of Canterbury and the British Crown loyal. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd had been recognized as Prince of Wales in the Treaty of Montgomery in the spring of 1267 . Over the next few years, Anian became an important advisor to the prince, whose confessor he was also. In 1268 he negotiated an agreement with the Earl of Gloucester over the Welsh dominion in Glamorgan , which was concluded on September 27, 1268 in Cantref Selyf in Brecknockshire . Together with Bishop Anian of St Asaph, Anian achieved in 1269 that Prince Llywelyn reached an agreement with his brother Dafydd in Berriw . He achieved a further equalization in April 1272, when Prince Llywelyn reconciled with his other brother Rhodri . In December 1274, however, he and Bishop Anian of St Asaph protested against the treatment of Dafydd after Lord Llywelyn revealed his involvement in a conspiracy against him.

Support the English conquest of Wales

When it came to war between Prince Llywelyn and the new English King Edward I in 1276 , Llywelyn sent Anian as a negotiator to King Edward I in early 1277 , but his mission was unsuccessful, and as a result there was a break between him and Llywelyn. He had to accept the order of Archbishop John Pecham , which he had issued on February 10, 1277, and announced the excommunication of the prince on Palm Sunday, March 21 . Anian then feared for his life and fled to England. There found refuge in the Abbey of St Albans while relatives of his fought on the side of the English. Sixty of them are said to have been killed. Prince Llywelyn punished his former adviser by cutting his income, leaving Anian dependent on the support of the English king. Even after the English victory and the Peace of Aberconwy in 1277 there was no reconciliation between the prince and his former counselor. The English king urged Llywelyn to treat Anian fairly after the end of the war in 1278. Anian stayed in England because the area of ​​his diocese was still ruled by Llywelyn. In 1280 Edward I made a house in Holborn available to the bishop , which subsequently served as Bangor House as the London residence of the bishops of Bangor until the early 17th century. It was only through the mediation of Archbishop Pecham that Anian and Prince Llywelyn were reconciled before July 1280, after which Anian returned to Wales.

However, when there was a Welsh uprising against English domination in 1282, Anian fled again. The uprising sparked a new campaign against Wales , during which Wales was eventually conquered by the English. On July 28, 1282 he was part of the suite of Edward I in Rhuddlan . After the death of Llywelyn at the end of 1282, he returned to his diocese in the king's suite. On behalf of the king, he received the formal surrender of numerous areas in North West Wales in June 1283. In return, he achieved by July 1283 that numerous Welsh people from his diocese were pardoned by Edward I. In addition, he was richly rewarded by the king for his loyalty. Anian was not only compensated with at least £ 250 for war damage in the area of ​​his diocese, but also received numerous privileges and other rights previously available to the king for the episcopal possessions. Allegedly, he is said to have baptized Eduard von Caernarvon , the king's youngest son, for which the king gave him further property as well as the income from two ferries across the Menai Strait . However, there is no contemporary evidence for the baptism of the king's son by Anian. In 1285 the king allowed him to draw up a will and thus to bequeath his possessions at his own will. In 1286 the king gave him a third of the income from the tithe collected in Tegeingl . The gifts Anian received as a reward for his support for the English king visibly strengthened the property and rights of the bishops of Bangor. In 1298, however, Anian complained to Edward I that English officials in Wales would disregard and threaten his rights. On April 28, 1301 he swore allegiance to Edward of Caernarvon in Conwy , after he had been raised to Prince of Wales .

Activity as bishop

Little is known about his activity as a clergyman in his diocese. He supported the monasteries in his diocese and in 1272 and 1273 confirmed the donations made by his predecessors in favor of the Augustinian settlements in Nefyn and Trefeglwys . In 1286 he issued an indulgence for donations in favor of the Augustinian priory of Beddgelert , and in 1300 he donated a small property to the Dominican settlement of Bangor. To this end, he tried to carry out church reforms in his diocese. In July 1291 he held a synod of the clergy of his diocese at Old St Mary's Church in Llanfair Garth Branan north of Bangor. Spiritual rules were issued, but their content has not been handed down. It is not known when Anian died. He is last mentioned in May 1305, he died with certainty before January 12, 1307. It is not known whether the pontifical named after Anian , which is located in Bangor Cathedral , was named after him or his successor Anian Seys .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 177
  2. ^ Rees R. Davies: The Age of Conquest. Wales 1063-1415 . Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford 1991, ISBN 0-19-820198-2 , p. 303
predecessor Office successor
Richard Bishop of Bangor
1267 – around 1306 		Gruffydd from Iorwerth
personal data
SURNAME Anian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Oneion
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Bangor
DATE OF BIRTH 13th Century
DATE OF DEATH between May 1305 and January 12, 1307