Hugh of Beaulieu

The remains of Beaulieu Abbey, after which Hugh was named

Hugh of Beaulieu OCist († June 3 or 4, 1223 in La Ferté ) was a religious from France who was the first abbot of the English Cistercian monastery of Beaulieu Abbey . In 1218 he became Bishop of Carlisle . As a clergyman he was controversial, but as an experienced diplomat and administrator he began the reorganization of the diocese in the 13th century.

Origin and move to England

Hugh of Beaulieu probably came from the vicinity of the Cistercian Abbey La Ferté in Burgundy , where he entered as a monk. All that is known of his family is that he had two nephews, Wischard and Guillaume . In 1203 he came as a monk from La Ferté to the Cistercian monastery in Faringdon in Berkshire , which was founded by the English king John Ohneland , which was never completed and in 1204 was moved to Beaulieu in Hampshire .

Abbot of Beaulieu Abbey

Service as the king's envoy

In 1204 Hugh was elected the first abbot of Beaulieu Abbey . In the next few years, however, Hugh was less of an abbot and more of an ambassador to the king. In 1205 he traveled to the papal curia on behalf of the king . In late 1206 and again in the spring of 1208, he returned to the Curia to negotiate recognition of the election of Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury . The king rejected this as archbishop, which led to a bitter dispute between him and Pope Innocent III. came. At the end of July 1209, Hugh was one of the king's envoys who, in negotiations with the papal envoys in Dover, tried in vain to avert the king's excommunication . As a Cistercian who was only subordinate to the General Chapter of the Order and not to the English Church, he was able to remain in England despite the excommunication of the King. The king thanked his services with generous monetary donations and valuable gifts for Beaulieu Abbey.

In late 1212, Hugh returned to the Curia. The negotiations led to the fact that the king submitted to the papal envoy Pandulf in May 1213 and reconciled with the pope. That year Hugh was elected Bishop of Coventry , but the election was not recognized or he did not accept it. At the beginning of 1214, Hugh was one of the king's agents, overseeing the election of abbot or bishop in the English abbeys and dioceses that had long been vacant due to the papal interdict and the subsequent excommunication of the king . In the autumn of 1215 he returned to Rome, where he took part in the Fourth Lateran Council . During the council he denounced Archbishop Stephen Langton and stood up in favor of Raimund , a son of the Count of Toulouse and nephew of King John, whom he described as a victim of the Albigensian Crusade .

Activity in Beaulieu and dismissal

Although Hugh, due to his activities as an envoy, rarely in Beaulieu was, he did not neglect entirely his duties as abbot. For example, he negotiated with the Dean of Lincoln Cathedral over the tithe , which he claimed by a community of the Diocese of Lincoln. In Southampton he bought properties for the benefit of the abbey. Although he initially had the confidence of the General Chapter of the Cistercian Order, this increasingly criticized Hugh's close contact with the king. It ordered an investigation and in 1215 accused him of numerous offenses against the rules of the order. Hugh is said to have attended a feast of the king with numerous barons, kept his own dog with a silver necklace and surrounded himself with worldly servants and luxurious objects. The offenses were reported to the Abbot of Cîteaux in 1216 , and before 1218 Hugh was apparently deposed as abbot.

Bishop of Carlisle

Appointment as bishop

His loyal service to the English crown saved Hugh from a shameful end to his career. Before August 1, 1218, he was nominated bishop of the Diocese of Carlisle , which had been vacant since 1214. When the Scottish King Alexander II had occupied northwest England during the First Barons' War from 1216 to December 1217, he had tried to appoint one of his followers as Bishop of Carlisle. However, this was rejected by both the English government and the Pope and had to withdraw with the Scots at the end of 1217. On August 25, 1218, Hugh was given the diocesan temporalities by the king , and the Regency Council recommended that the cathedral chapter elect Hugh bishop. Whether he was actually formally elected at all is unlikely, since he was apparently appointed bishop by the papal legate Guala . This not only saved Hugh from conviction by the Cistercian order under canon law, but the controversial border area with Scotland had an experienced bishop who was loyal to the English king. In late May 1219, Hugh was ordained Bishop of Carlisle.

Relationship to the cathedral chapter

At least two monks from Beaulieu followed Hugh to Carlisle, one of whom served as chaplain. Born in France, Hugh had never had any contact with the barons in north-west England, many of whom had rebelled against King John in the Barons' War. The Augustinian canons who had accepted the Scottish candidate as bishop were also unknown to him. The papal legate Guala had received instructions from the Pope to replace the monks and regular canons in the English cathedral chapters with secular canons . Hugh did not fully implement this requirement, but apparently managed to get some canons to leave the cathedral chapter. In addition, Hugh divided the possessions of the poor diocese between the bishop and the canons. He is said to have taken advantage of the canons because their possessions and income were more than halved. Hugh received support from Legate Guala and his successor Pandulf. The episcopal estate of Bewley was probably named after Hugh's former monastery Beaulieu.

Further work as a bishop

As a bishop, Hugh, like other bishops, traditionally took care of the administration of his diocese. He made sure that the parish vicars were adequately supplied. In February 1221 he received from Pope Honorius III. even an invitation to collect benefits that were actually due Jedburgh Abbey , but had been bequeathed to their sons from their spiritual owners. Hugh, like other English bishops, issued an ordinance prohibiting this widespread practice, and the right to prohibit it was expressly granted to him in the spring of 1223. In the first half of the 13th century the choir of Carlisle Cathedral was rebuilt , the architecture of which was obviously influenced by the Cistercian monastery churches and thus probably by Hugh. In addition, he had the first bishop's palace built in Carlisle.

More services for the king

In June 1220, Hugh was a member of the English legation, which negotiated in vain for a marriage alliance between England and Scotland. In 1222 he supported the supply of Carlisle Castle . Opposite the Regency Council, which is responsible for the minor King Henry III. led the government, he behaved loyally, which is why he initially received a gift of 20 marks in 1222 and a little later the administration of the Thorpenhow estate , which was expressly assigned to him for his services to the king. Thanks to these gifts and his increased income, he was able to employ not only a chaplain, but also an administrator and a marshal , and several young educated clergymen joined his household.

In October 1222 the Regency Council appointed him head of a delegation that was to take part in the council called to Verona , which was to prepare for a crusade led by Emperor Frederick II . It was only after Hugh's departure that news reached England that the council was not to take place in Ferentino until March 1223 . It is not known whether Hugh attended the council in Ferentino, but there is evidence that he was in Rome, where the possessions of his diocese were confirmed to him in two documents on April 7 and May 2. On the return trip to England he visited his old monastery La Ferté, where he suddenly fell ill and died. He was buried in the choir of the monastery church of La Ferté. His grave was destroyed during the Huguenot Wars in 1570.

literature

• CML Bouch: Prelates and people of the lake counties: a history of the diocese of Carlisle, 1133-1933 . Wilson, Kendal 1948

Web links

• Henry Summerson: Hugh (d.1223). 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
Bernard	Bishop of Carlisle 1218–1223	Walter Mauclerk