Benedict of Sawston
Benedict of Sawston (also Benedict of Sausetun ) († December 18, 1226 ) was a bishop of the English diocese of Rochester .
Origin and career as a clergyman
Benedict probably came from the village of Sawston in Cambridgeshire , which gives him his nickname. Nothing is known about his education, but apparently he received legal training and presumably studied with Stephen Langton at the University of Paris , since remarks on Langton's quaestiones have been received from him . As Master Benedict , he witnessed deeds of St Paul's Cathedral in the 1190s , and before March 26, 1204, he became Precentor of the Cathedral. For this office he received the Church of St Leonard of Shoreditch from the King , and he had another benefice in Neasden . As a precentor, he served four times as a commissioned papal judge, but his attempts to raise his rank lower than the archdeacon were unsuccessful. According to a document from the 14th century, he also served as royal chancellor of the treasury, but he was probably confused with Benedict of Ramsay († 1211).
Bishop of Rochester
When Sawston was elected the new Bishop of Rochester on December 13, 1214 , he was in Paris teaching on the recommendation of Archbishop Langton. On February 22, 1215 he was ordained bishop by Archbishop Langton in Osney near Oxford . He is named as one of the advisors who advised King John Ohneland on June 15 to recognize the Magna Carta . After that he probably left England like Archbishop Langton, since he participated in the Fourth Lateran Council in Rome in November 1215 . During his absence, the first war between the barons and the king broke out in England . In October 1215, the king besieged the rebel-held Rochester Castle , while Sawston's Episcopal Church, Rochester Cathedral was misappropriated as the quarters of the royal soldiers. The soldiers destroyed manuscripts and documents and stole silver and other valuables. After the end of the Civil War, Sawston presided over court sessions in Sussex , Surrey , Kent and Middlesex in 1218 and 1219 . On April 25, 1221 he consecrated Eustace de Fauconberg as Bishop of London. In January and March 1224 he witnessed royal documents in Westminster and in October 1225 he belonged to an embassy that tried in vain to end the Franco-English War in France .
In managing his files, Sawston introduced the date and location on the deeds. He was buried in Rochester Cathedral on December 21, 1226.
Web links
- MN Blount: Sawston, Benedict of (d.1226). 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Gilbert de Glanville |
Bishop of Rochester 1214-1226 |
Henry of Sandford |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Benedict of Sawston |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Benedict of Sausetun |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Bishop of Rochester |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 12th Century |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 18, 1226 |