Anian II

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Presumed funerary monument of Anian in the Cathedral of St Asaph

Anian (also Anian II , Eynnon or Einion from Ynyr ) († February 5, 1293 ) was a Welsh religious. From 1268 he was Bishop of St. Asaph .

Ascent to bishop

Anian was of Welsh descent, but his exact origins are unclear. Presumably he was a son of Ynyr ap Meurig from Nannau in the parish of Llanfachraeth in Merionethshire , but there is no evidence for this. In the past it was wrongly called Anian de Schonau , this name probably originated from a misspelling of Nannau. Anian was prior of the Dominican Settlement of Rhuddlan when he was elected bishop of the Welsh diocese of St. Asaph before September 24, 1268 . On September 24th, King Heinrich III. his approval of the election. On October 21, Anian swore obedience to Archbishop Boniface of Canterbury in Southwark , after which he was ordained bishop by Boniface and Bishop Walter of Exeter that same day . At this time the diocese of Asaph was under the rule of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd , whom the English king had recognized as Prince of Wales in the Treaty of Montgomery in 1267 . Llywelyn had probably also agreed to the election earlier.

Role during the conquest of Wales

Relationship with Lord Llywelyn ap Gruffydd

Anian initially had a seemingly good relationship with Lord Llywelyn, whom he served as envoy and whose council he belonged. On May 1, 1269, Anian was able to reach an agreement with Llywelyn over the rights of the diocese he claimed in the Middle Country , which had fallen back under Welsh rule through the Treaty of Montgomery. Anian was also involved in the negotiations for the reconciliation between Prince Llywelyn and his brother Dafydd , which was reached in Berriw in 1269 , as well as in the negotiations for the agreement between Llywelyn and his other brother Rhodri , which was reached on April 12, 1272 in Caernarvon .

Still, the relationship between Anian and Lord Llywelyn seemed strained from the start, and eventually Anian's religious zeal led to a long-standing argument with Llywelyn. Just a year after Anian's election, Llywelyn ordered his officials to comply with the bishop's rules that they had already observed with his predecessors. Anian commented sharply on this, pointing out that officials throughout the principality should obey the rules and laws. On October 30, 1272, Anian appeared as Llywelyn's ambassador to King Henry III, who received him benevolently, but died a few weeks later. A little later there were open tensions between Anian and Prince Llywelyn, because at the end of 1273 Anian wrote a letter to Pope Gregory X. in which he complained about Llywelyn. The Pope then warned the prince not to violate the rights of the Church. The abbots of the Welsh Cistercian monasteries tried to support the prince in the dispute with the bishop. They denied Anian's allegations in a letter they wrote together on March 7, 1274 at Strata Florida Abbey . As a result, Anian called a diocesan synod in the fall of 1274. During this time he complained about Llywelyn's violations of the rights of the Church. The synod recorded the points of contention on October 19, 1274. Above all, it was about Llywelyn's violations of the sovereignty of the spiritual courts, because Llywelyn demanded a share of the fines and fines that the spiritual courts imposed. On May 25, 1275 Anian turned in a letter to Archbishop Kilwardby , in which he complained about attacks by Lord Llywelyn, but showed himself willing to negotiate. When the relationship between Llywelyn and the English King Edward I deteriorated, Anian fled to England. On November 8, 1275, the king confirmed the rights and privileges of his diocese. In December Anian renewed his allegations against Llywelyn, whereupon the king reaffirmed the rights of the diocese on January 20, 1276. The in and of itself insignificant dispute with Llywelyn over money eventually turned into a major conflict that weighed heavily on Llywelyn when it led to a conflict with the English king. Since Anian cleverly sought the support of the English king in the conflict, he was able to prevail in the dispute. He took part in the royal council in Westminster in November 1276 , while the Prince Llywelyn finally declared a rebel on November 12, 1276 and in which a campaign against Wales was decided. Anian then quickly returned to his diocese, where he convened a new diocesan synod in December 1276. On this he accused the prince of numerous offenses together with the cathedral chapter. Llywelyn then issued a charter in which he made several important concessions to the bishop. Anian remained in close contact with the English king. He was involved in the negotiations that led to the Aberconwy Treaty in November 1277 , which ended the war with Llywelyn. He was named as one of the royal counselors who were supposed to escort the prince to Rhuddlan , where he had to submit to the English king. He then lifted the excommunication imposed on Llywelyn .

Relationship with King Edward I.

Through the Treaty of Aberconwy, almost the entire area of ​​the diocese of St Asaph came under the rule of the English king. Anian was initially angry about the destruction that the English soldiers had wrought on churches and properties in his diocese during the war, but he maintained his good relationship with Edward I. On November 27, 1277 he is named as one of the royal judges in Oswestry , and about the same time he received from the king land holdings at St Asaph with an annual income of £ 20. But he had to share this income with the cathedral chapter. This land donation was probably a reparation for war damage suffered. In the summer of 1281 Anian and the king turned to Pope Martin IV to move the bishopric from the remote St Asaph to the newly founded English borough Rhuddlan. However, he did not pursue this initiative any further, and after 1282 the king also refrained from implementing his plan. When there was an open Welsh rebellion in the spring of 1282, there was also fighting between Welsh and English in the region around Rhuddlan.

When a Welsh rebellion broke out in the spring of 1282, Archbishop John Pecham asked Anian to excommunicate the rebels. Anian was the only bishop of the Canterbury ecclesiastical province to not immediately comply. When the cathedral of St Asaph was burned down by English soldiers in June 1282 during the new English campaign that followed, Anian reacted violently. He further refused to excommunicate his compatriots and instead imposed church sentences on the English soldiers who were responsible for the fire. In addition, he refused the king's support for the campaign. The king then confiscated Anian's possessions, which he initially did not get back even after the conquest of Wales. Anian then wanted to resign from his office, but the king got ahead of him and banished him from his diocese. At the request of Archbishop Pecham, Anian came to Oswestry in 1284 to accompany the archbishop on his visit to the diocese. In Oswestry, Anian met the king, who was reluctant to continue to receive Anian except for a brief greeting. Archbishop Pecham insisted that the presence of the bishop was necessary to advance further church reforms in the diocese. He eventually managed to convince the king that Anian had not participated in the Welsh uprising. But only when the king needed Anian's support as a bishop to move the Cistercian Abbey of Aberconwy to Maenan , he gave in. Anian was then able to return to his diocese with the support of Archbishop Pecham. Anian had to pay a fine of 500 marks to the king and in return received the right of patronage from Rhuddlan from the king . In 1284 the reconstruction of the cathedral of St Asaph began. The relationship between Anian and the king remained tense.

Other activities as a bishop

Anian was generally seen as a fiery and indomitable advocate of church rights. Not only was his relationship with Prince Llywelyn and King Edward I difficult, but also with other people. However, it was not always the cause of the conflict. From 1269 to 1272 he assisted John FitzAlan in his trial against the Abbot of Shrewsbury Abbey over the patronage right of Oswestry. With FitzAlan's mother Maud , however, he led a long dispute over the right to appoint the church of Llanymynech . In 1274 he was in dispute with Valle Crucis Abbey and in 1279 with the Prior of Chirbury over the right to fill vicarages . He had a major conflict with Thomas de Cantilupe , Bishop of Hereford, over the area of Gorddwr , which lay on the right bank of the Severn between Montgomery and Alberbury and which Anian claimed for his diocese. He was encouraged to do so by Lord Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyny , who had annexed this area in 1263 as part of Powys Wenwynwyn . The area was occupied by the Marcher Lord Peter Corbet in 1277 , but this did not discourage Anian. He continued the dispute against the diocese of Hereford until Richard Swinfield , the successor to Bishop Thomas de Cantilupe, was finally able to enforce his claims in 1288. As an apparently learned Dominican, Anian proved to be competent in canon law in a dispute with Prince Llywelyn . He used ecclesiastical structures to his advantage and received repeated support from the clergy at diocesan synods, the Archbishops of Canterbury, and the Curia . As a bishop he tried to raise the moral standard of both the clergy and the population of his diocese in general. A list of the documents from Anian's time in office is contained in the Red Book of Asaph , the diocese's register of documents .

heritage

In 1288 Anian had made his will in Chartham near Canterbury . After this he bequeathed his considerable fortune to monasteries and charities in the diocese of St Asaph after his death. He left a book on canon law to his nephew Ithel , and he probably also owned a book on Welsh law and a Bible. After his death, Gruffudd , the archdeacon of St Asaph and the Dominican brother Adam of Nannau , who was probably Anian's brother, became his executors. According to his will, Aninan wanted to be buried in the Dominican settlement that was closest to the place where he died. Since his place of death is unknown, it is also unknown where he was buried. In the Cathedral of St Asaph, a funerary monument is considered to be that of Anian, but this cannot be proven.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rees R. Davies: The Age of Conquest. Wales 1063-1415. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1991, ISBN 0-19-820198-2 , p. 324.
  2. ^ Rees R. Davies: The Age of Conquest. Wales 1063-1415. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1991, ISBN 0-19-820198-2 , p. 326.
  3. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 208.
  4. ↑ St Asaph Cathedral: The Cathedral's History. Retrieved November 15, 2017 .
  5. ^ Rees R. Davies: The Age of Conquest. Wales 1063-1415. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1991, ISBN 0-19-820198-2 , p. 325.
  6. ^ Rees R. Davies: The Age of Conquest. Wales 1063-1415. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1991, ISBN 0-19-820198-2 , p. 326.
  7. ^ Rees R. Davies: The Age of Conquest. Wales 1063-1415. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1991, ISBN 0-19-820198-2 , p. 194.
predecessor Office successor
John Bishop of St. Asaph
1266–1267 		Llywelyn Bromfield
personal data
SURNAME Anian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Anian II; Einion from Ynyr; Eynnon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Welsh religious, Bishop of St. Asaph
DATE OF BIRTH 13th Century
DATE OF DEATH February 5, 1293