Godfrey de Lucy

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The tomb of Godfrey de Lucy in Winchester Cathedral

Godfrey de Lucy († September 11 or 12, 1204 in Winchester ) was an Anglo-Norman clergyman. From 1189 he was Bishop of Winchester .

Origin, education and heritage

Godfrey de Lucy was the second son of Richard de Lucy , who was justiciar of England from 1154 , and of his wife Roysia. As a child, Godfrey grew up at the royal court. As a favorite of King Henry II , he attested to at least 30 royal documents from the early 1170s. Since nine of these documents were issued in France, Lucy probably belonged at least temporarily to the king's entourage when he visited his properties in France . As a younger son, Lucy was appointed clergyman. He attended a school in London, where Master Henry of Northampton was one of his teachers. He then studied outside of England and earned the title of Magister . Then he entered the service of the king as an official. This rewarded his services and gave him a number of benefices . In 1171 he became dean of St Martin's-le-Grand in London, later a canon at Lincoln Cathedral , St Paul's Cathedral in London, Exeter Cathedral and the Collegiate Church of Bampton in Oxfordshire . Around 1174 he was archdeacon of Derby and from 1181 to 1184 also of Richmond , in addition he was pastor of Wye . However, he did not exercise these numerous and lucrative offices himself; instead, as was common in 12th century England, he was represented by paid vicars . After the death of his father in 1179, his little nephew Richard, the eldest son of his late brother Geoffrey, inherited most of Richard de Luci's estates. Godfrey received only a small part of the extensive possessions, but became the guardian of the young heir. However, young Richard and his little brother died before 1194, so Godfrey inherited his father's estates.

Service as royal judge and further advancement as clergyman

After his father's resignation as Justiciar, England was divided into four judicial districts during a council meeting in Windsor in 1179. Godfrey de Lucy was appointed presiding judge of the traveling judges for northern England. As a result, he served several times as a judge in northern England, but also as a judge in the court court in Westminster . In 1184 Henry II sent him together with the bishops Walter von Lincoln and John von Norwich to Normandy , where they should negotiate an armistice between the French King Philip II and Count Philip of Flanders . From 1184 to 1186, Lucy was administrator of the vacant St Mary's Abbey in York on behalf of the king . In 1186 the Lincoln Cathedral Chapter elected him the new Bishop of Lincoln . However, the king wanted Abbot Hugo of Avalon as the new bishop and refused to elect Lucy. In 1186 Lucy was elected Bishop of Exeter , but he refused this office because he feared that the income from that diocese would not cover his costs. After the death of Heinrich II. In 1189, Lucy continued to serve as a judge under his son and successor Richard I. At Richard's coronation in Westminster he was allowed to hold the king's linen cap. When Geoffrey , an illegitimate son of Henry II, was elected the new Archbishop of York in August 1189 , Lucy was unable to attend. As archdeacon and canon of the Archdiocese of York, however, he had given in writing his consent to the election of Geoffrey. On September 15, 1189, Richard I named four new bishops at the Pipewell council , including Lucy, who was to become Bishop of Winchester. The official election of Lucy was only a formality, and on October 22, 1189, Lucy was ordained bishop by Archbishop Baldwin at St Katherine's Chapel in Westminster.

Bishop of Winchester

Act as a bishop

One of Lucy's first acts as Bishop of Winchester was to renew the title of Meon and Wargrave estates which the king had withdrawn from the diocese. Lucy made his claim legally, but above all £ 3000, which he tacitly donated to the king, is said to have moved Richard I to give Lucy the two goods again. To this end, he confirmed his share in his father's legacy and handed him the office of sheriff of Hampshire . In return for payment of a further 1000 marks , Lucy was given the office of constable of Portchester and Winchester Castle . To raise these sums, Lucy used funds on loan from the Cathedral Treasury. He was able to repay most of the borrowed money before January 28, 1192.

As bishop, Lucy continued the rebuilding of Winchester Cathedral . In 1199, an unidentified tower of the cathedral was built. In 1202 the construction of the retro choir , which was to house the shrine of St. Swithun , the Lady Chapel and two adjacent chapels began. Lucy was the first English bishop to systematically date his letters, arguably through his experience in royal administration. He was wrongly credited with building a canal between Alresford and Winchester in the 19th century . What is certain, however, is that Lucy had a large market square built in Alresford, granted the place market rights in 1199 and the right to hold a three-day fair in 1202 . To this end, he sponsored the Lesnes Abbey founded by his father .

Role in the overthrow of the Justiciar William de Longchamp

In November 1189 the King appointed Lucy one of the mediators who tried in vain to mediate in the dispute between Archbishop Baldwin and the monks of the cathedral priory of Canterbury over the building of a collegiate church in Hackington . When Richard set out on the Third Crusade in early 1190 , Lucy accompanied him to Tours before turning back on June 25th. In Normandy, however, he had to cure an illness before he could return to England. There the king had appointed the two bishops William de Longchamp and Hugh de Puiset as his justiciars for the time of his absence . Longchamp, however, had begun to drive Puiset out of office soon after the king's departure. Longchamp withdrew Lucy, who was on good terms with Puiset and still ill in Normandy, the office of sheriff of Hampshire, the administration of Winchester and Portchester Castle and the paternal inheritance. After Lucy returned to England, he went to Longchamp, who was besieging Gloucester Castle , one of the royal castles held by Puiset. Longchamp received him, ostensibly warmly, and, on Lucy's advice, lifted the siege. He also confirmed his legacy, but refused to give him back the sheriff's office and the two castles. During the council meeting, which Longchamp held as papal legate in Westminster in October 1190, Lucy was allowed to sit on his left while Bishop Richard Fitz Nigel of London was allowed to sit on his right. After Johann Ohneland , the king's younger brother, had returned to England against his brother's prohibition, Lucy was commissioned on April 25, 1191 to settle the dispute between Longchamp and Johann together with Bishop Richard Fitz Nigel and Bishop Reginald of Bath and Wells . After this conflict could be settled with difficulty, Longchamp arrested Geoffrey of York , a half-brother of the king and elected Archbishop of York, in September 1191 , when he also landed in Dover against his brother's command . Lucy wrote a letter to the monks of Canterbury Cathedral Priory to report the incident, but unfortunately he could not give advice without first consulting with the other bishops. Johann Ohneland now used this scandal to win support against Longchamp. Lucy was now an open opponent of Longchamp and took part in the deliberations at which numerous barons and prelates met first in Marlborough , then at Loddon Bridge and finally on October 8, 1191 in London's St Paul's Cathedral . In London he was appointed one of the four negotiators who were to negotiate with Longchamp, who had retired to the Tower . Given the overwhelming power of his opponents, Longchamp had to accept his removal as justiciar two days later. Lucy was given back management of Winchester and Portchester Castle by the council that had decided to remove Longchamp. Longchamp fled England. A little later he achieved that Johann Ohneland, Lucy and other of his opponents were excommunicated , which was largely disregarded in England.

Loss of importance after the return of Richard I.

Longchamp, however, continued to have the favor of Richard I, who was captured in Germany on the return journey from the crusade. From captivity on June 8, 1193, the king ordered Lucy to support his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine so that Hubert Walter would be elected as the new Archbishop of Canterbury. Johann Ohneland, who was still opposing his brother, was excommunicated in February 1194 by Bishop Hugo of Lincoln, Lucy and other prelates.

Shortly after the king was released and returned to England, he withdrew Lucy on April 15, 1194 in Winchester from the administration of the two castles, the sheriff's office and the two goods that Lucy had acquired in 1189. At the renewed solemn coronation ceremony on April 17, 1194 in Winchester Cathedral , Lucy as Bishop of Winchester was apparently not present. Lucy was in Normandy for several months in 1198. Presumably he tried on behalf of the king to reconcile Archbishop Geoffrey and the Cathedral Chapter of York, but this did not succeed.

Last years and death

After the death of Richard I, Lucy took part in the coronation of his brother and successor Johann Ohneland on May 27, 1199. For a fee of £ 1000 he was able to re-purchase the two goods he had lost in 1194. The next year he witnessed several royal documents, but because of illness he was unable to attend the great council meeting which Archbishop Hubert Walter held in Westminster on September 19, 1200. On November 23, 1200, however, Lucy was able to attend the memorial service for Bishop Hugo in Lincoln. After his death in September 1204, he was buried in the Lady Chapel of Winchester Cathedral, which was begun during his tenure.

heritage

Lucy had a longstanding relationship with an Agatha whom he may even have secretly married. Agatha had previously been employed as a wet nurse by Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine and later married the royal falconer William of Gaddesden . There is evidence that Lucy had three illegitimate children:

  • Geoffrey († 1241)
  • John
  • Philip

His son Geoffrey became a clergyman like his father. He rose to the position of Archdeacon of London and Dean of St Paul's, and he was temporarily Chancellor of Oxford University. Less is known about Lucy's other two sons, John and Philip. He turned over houses on the Strand in London to John , while Philip served as a royal official until 1207. Since Lucy's illegitimate sons could not inherit his inheritance, after his death there was a long dispute between his three sisters and their families over his extensive property.

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predecessor Office successor
Richard of Ilchester Bishop of Winchester
1189–1204
Peter des Roches