Henry of Sandwich

Henry of Sandwich (* before 1205; † September 15, 1273 in Orsett , Essex ) was an English clergyman. As Bishop of London , he was one of the leading ecclesiastical supporters of the aristocratic opposition to the king during the Second Barons' War .

Origin and promotion to bishop

Henry of Sandwich was a son of his father of the same name, Sir Henry of Sandwich , a knight from Kent . He embarked on a spiritual career and was rector of Helpringham in Lincolnshire after 1227 . As a clergyman, he was certainly influenced by Bishop Robert Grosseteste of Lincoln, in whose diocese his rectorate was located. Sandwich studied at Oxford , where he received a Master of Arts degree before 1238 . In 1256 he received the title of Doctor of Theology . Before 1259 he was made archdeacon of Oxford and canon of St Paul's Cathedral in London . He gave up these and other benefices when he was elected Bishop of London on November 13, 1262. In the presence of Bishops Walter de Cantilupe of Worcester, Stephen Bersted of Chichester and Richard of Gravesend of Lincoln, he was ordained bishop on May 27, 1263 by Bishop John Gervase of Winchester in Canterbury Cathedral.

Bishop at the start of the civil war

At the time of his elevation to bishop England was on the brink of armed civil war between a noble opposition led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and the supporters of King Henry III. All the bishops who were present at Sanchwich's ordination supported the aristocratic opposition, who wanted to reform the government and limit the king's power with the help of the Provisions of Oxford . Sandwich quickly became a leading mediator in the negotiations between the aristocratic opposition and the king. Together with other bishops, he urged the king in June 1263 to accept the Provisions of Oxford and to expel his foreign courtiers and relatives, who were hated by the barons. The king finally had to give in, so that on July 16 a peace was reached between the two parties. Sandwich now openly advocated the opposition to the nobility. He ignored the claims of a papal chaplain and gave two benefices at St Paul's Cathedral to Montfort's youngest son Aumary and to Thomas de Cantilupe , the nephew of Bishop Walter de Cantilupe, who was a confidante of Montfort. Together with Walter de Cantilupe, he signed the agreement on December 13, 1263, in which they and numerous barons assured the arbitration award of the French King Louis IX. on the legality of recognizing the Provisions of Oxford.

Bishop in the service of the aristocratic opposition

In January 1264 the French king declared the commission invalid in the Mise of Amiens , whereupon the English king publicly condemned them. Sandwich was now a member of the delegation of barons, along with the Bishops Cantilupe, Gervais and Bersted, which in March 1264 offered at negotiations in Brackley that the Mise of Amiens should be recognized if the king would in return no longer assign English offices to foreigners. The negotiations failed, which led to open fighting between the aristocratic opposition and the supporters of the king. On the evening before the Battle of Lewes in May 1264, Sandwich and Cantilupe tried to start new negotiations. However, the Battle of Lewes was a clear victory for the aristocratic opposition, which then took over the government again under Montfort's leadership. Sandwich was the only bishop on the newly elected nine-member State Council to advise the king.

In September 1264, Sandwich and Cantilupe belonged to a government delegation that traveled to Boulogne to make it clear to the papal legate Gui Foucois that the king also had to accept advisers that he had not chosen himself and that he had to obey their decisions . In return, the two bishops promised to work for the release of the heir to the throne, Lord Eduard , who had been captured at Lewes . Should the government of the barons not comply with this request, the two bishops would no longer support the barons. The Legate rejected this offer and ordered the bishops to proclaim the excommunication of the supporters of Montfort in England . The sandwich and cantiloupe reluctantly traveled back to England. When they arrived on October 3rd, the citizens of the Cinque Ports took away their excommunication documents and threw them into the sea.

After he had already reprimanded Gilbert de Clare, 3rd Earl of Gloucester for the devastation of church property, Sandwich was a member of a commission in December 1264, which should take measures against attacks on church property. In January 1265 he was called to De Montfort's Parliament , and in March he was likely one of the nine bishops who threatened excommunication for violations of the Magna Carta and resistance to the government of the barons.

Disempowerment and death

In August 1265, however, the supporters of King Montfort could beat Montfort decisively. Montfort fell, and Sandwich had to answer for violations of the peace and assaults against the king. In December 1265 he was temporarily relieved of his office by the new legate Ottobono Fieschi . On March 15, 1266, he again had to appear in court in London. He was accused of disregarding the orders of Legat Foulquois, of having acted treacherously to the king and of ignoring the excommunication of Montfort by donating the sacraments and celebrating Mass. Sandwich replied that he could not defend himself for fear of the king's revenge, but the legate relieved him of his office and sent him to Rome, where the Pope was to judge him. In Rome he lived on a small salary that was granted to him from his London property until he was reinstated in his office by Pope Gregory X on May 31, 1272 at the intercession of Lord Edward . He returned to England and returned to St Paul's on January 31, 1273. At this point he was already seriously ill. His condition continued to deteriorate, so that on February 26 he could no longer attend the ordination of Robert Kilwardby as the new Archbishop of Canterbury. After his death a few months later, he was buried in St Paul's Cathedral.

Web links

• Clive H. Knowles: Sandwich, Henry of (b. Before 1205, d. 1273). 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
Henry Wingham	Bishop of London 1262–1272	John of Chishall