John Hotham

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John Hotham (also de Hothum ) (* 13th century in Hotham , † January 14, 1337 in Somersham ) was an English clergyman and minister. From 1316 he was Bishop of Ely .

Origin and advancement in Ireland

John Hotham came from a gentry family of Trehouses in Hotham in Yorkshire . He was a son of Alan and Matilda Hotham . His uncle William Hotham , who was elected Archbishop of Dublin in 1297 , also came from his influential family . Thanks to the influence of his uncle, Hotham began his career in Ireland . In 1291 he served as an attorney for the Irish Treasury. From 1293 to 1296 he was also in the service of William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke , who owned extensive estates in Ireland. By 1305 at the latest, Hotham was promoted to Baron of the Irish Exchequer in the Irish Treasury . The old King Edward I promised him a benefice as a reward , for which he should receive at least 60 marks a year in income. Hotham came to England in July 1308, but returned to Ireland in January 1309, where he won the support of Piers Gaveston , the royal favorite who was in exile in Ireland at the time. In May 1309 Hotham received a dispensation so that he could hold a number of mainly Irish benefits at the same time. From these Irish charities he had an annual income of £ 39. In the same month he became Chancellor of the Treasury of Ireland on the recommendation of William Melton , later Archbishop of York . He held this office until January 1310.

Loyal official in England

In November 1309 Hotham returned to England, where in December 1309 he was appointed administrator of the fallen fiefs north of the Trent . This lucrative office, which he was allowed to keep until February 1311, he probably owed Gaveston. King Edward II ordered in December 1310 that Hotham should receive benefits totaling a handsome £ 300 in income. On January 30, 1311 he received a benefice at York Minster with annual income of over £ 46. Before his sponsor Gaveston had to go into exile again in October 1311, he appointed Hotham to one of his lawyers. Hotham had also been Gaveston's agent as administrator of the royal forests north of the Trent, and because of this close association with Gaveston, the Lords Ordainer demanded his dismissal and removal from the royal court in 1311. On December 2, 1311, Hotham handed over the management of the forests to Henry Percy , one of the Lords Ordainer. When Gaveston returned to England without permission at the beginning of 1312, he came under the power of opposition magnates , who had him unceremoniously executed under the leadership of the Earl of Lancaster . However, Hotham's career was not over. By the favor of the king he received in 1312 the income of the Church of Cottingham in Yorkshire and the administration of Leixlip near Dublin. On December 13, 1312 he was appointed Chancellor of the Treasury , which he remained until June 1316. In June 1313 he accompanied the king on his visit to France.

Returned to Ireland

After the defeat at the Battle of Bannockburn , the king sent Hotham to Ireland in August 1314, where he was supposed to raise money for the king. In November 1314 he returned to England. During his stay in Ireland, Hotham had learned nothing of a planned Scottish invasion under Edward Bruce . After the news of the invasion reached Westminster , Hotham was sent back to Ireland on September 1, 1315 to report the situation there to the king. An Irish parliament was called to Dublin for the end of October , but since Scottish ships under Thomas Dun ruled the Irish Sea , Hotham could not reach Ireland safely until November 5th. In the meantime the Irish magnates had left Dublin again. The king had given Hotham, so to speak, viceroyal powers so that he could organize the defense against the Scots and dismiss incompetent officials. Hotham expanded the fortifications of Dublin, but the Scots initially achieved considerable success. After the victory of Edward Bruce at the Battle of Ardscull in January 1316, Hotham tried to secure the loyalty of the Irish magnates. However, he complained in writing to the British government about the limited financial resources that were available to him in Ireland.

The Hotham funerary monument in Ely Cathedral

Bishop of Ely

Elected bishop and served as treasurer

After his return to England, the king assured him that he would be elected bishop of the diocese of Ely , which took place in June 1316. He was ordained bishop on October 3 in Canterbury . At the end of 1316 he belonged to an embassy that set out for the papal court in Avignon under the leadership of the Earl of Pembroke . One of the mission's goals was to have Alexander Bicknor named Archbishop of Dublin. Hotham had been Bicknor's deputy in 1309 when he was Treasurer of the Irish Treasury. Little is known about the course of the other negotiations in Avignon, until finally Pope John XXII at the end of March . granted the English king the income of a papal tithe as credit and sent two cardinals to England to broker a peace with Scotland. After his return from Avignon on May 11, 1317, Hotham was appointed royal treasurer on May 27 . However, contrary to the provisions of the Ordinances, this appointment was made without the consent of Parliament . As a minister, Hotham was part of the king's entourage over the next few years and took part in numerous council meetings. In 1317 he was able to convince the king to donate King's Hall in Cambridge to better train royal officials . Cambridge was chosen mainly because it was part of the Diocese of Ely.

Activity as royal chancellor

In June 1318, Hotham resigned from the office of treasurer after he had been appointed royal chancellor . He now had a significant part in the negotiations with the Earl of Lancaster that led to the conclusion of the Treaty of Leake in August 1318. He became a member of the Council of State formed under this agreement with Lancaster. In October 1318, Parliament in York upheld not only Leake's treaty, but also Hotham's appointment as chancellor. To this end, he was appointed a member of the commission that was supposed to reform the royal budget. In December 1318 the commission issued an instruction aimed at improving the organization of the household. Hotham is said to have been responsible for the king's move to York in September 1319. On September 12, 1319, Hotham was present at the Battle of Myton , where a poorly equipped English army, which he had formed together with William Melton, the Archbishop of York to repel a Scottish invasion, suffered a crushing defeat. In December 1320 he was a member of the legation that concluded a two-year armistice with Scotland. In January 1320, Hotham was replaced as chancellor, which was possibly a consequence of the fiasco at Myton.

Further activity during the reign of Edward II.

After his dismissal as Chancellor, Hotham's importance within the government continued to decline as he had apparently fallen out of favor with the king. In November 1320 he was part of a delegation aimed at persuading Lancaster to take part in Parliament, and during the Despenser War he was one of the bishops in the summer of 1321 trying to mediate between the king and the rebellious Marcher Lords . The Marcher Lords finally enforced the banishment of the Despensers , the hated royal favorites , in parliament . From the autumn of 1321, however, the king took military action against the rebels, and on December 1, 1321, Hotham was one of only four bishops who had appeared at a church assembly convened by Archbishop Reynolds and approved the return of the Despensers, two exiled royal favorites. In gratitude for his loyalty to the king, the king granted him a deferment of his debts to the crown. In January 1323 the king sent Hotham to Gascony , where he should try to settle a dispute between the barons there. Although the king asked him to repay debts of £ 1000 in April 1324, Hotham remained a loyal supporter of the king in 1325.

Role in the fall of Edward II and renewed service as Chancellor

When Queen Isabelle landed with an army in England in September 1326 to overthrow her husband Edward II, Hotham quickly joined the invaders. It is unclear what role he played in the deposition of Edward II in early 1327, but on January 28, 1327 he was reappointed Chancellor at the instigation of Roger Mortimer, who had been with him since at least 1309 . He participated on February 1, 1327 at the coronation of Edward III. part and received his wife Philippa of Hainault , when she traveled from the Netherlands to England, in December 1327 at his residence in Holborn . On January 30, 1328 he married together with the Archbishop of York Edward III. and Philippa at York Minster. On March 1, 1328 he was released as Chancellor. As a result, he had little political influence.

The octagon built during Hotham's tenure in Ely Cathedral

Spiritual activity and death

During his tenure as bishop of the collapsed central tower of Ely Cathedral one, then as octagon was rebuilt. Even if the sacristan of the cathedral was primarily responsible for the construction of the octagon , Hotham had three yokes of the choir room that were destroyed in the collapse rebuilt. In 1329 Hotham bequeathed the Cuckney Manor in Nottinghamshire to Welbeck Abbey . For his uncle William Hotham, for the Countess of Pembroke, for Gaveston and for John Wogan , who had served as legal advisor there during his time in Ireland , he had soul masses read. Hotham remained linked to Ireland, and in 1329 he acquired a third of the rule of Kilkenny from Eleanor Despenser for the payment of £ 100 a year . From 1335 Hotham was paralyzed, so he had to appoint August 26, 1336 coadjutors , including his nephew Alan . He died in his Somersham , Huntingdonshire residence and was buried on the east side of the main altar in Ely Cathedral.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 47
  2. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 66.
  3. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 69.
  4. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 70.
  5. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 111
  6. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 199
  7. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 121
  8. ^ Christopher Nugent Lawrence Brooke, Damian Riehl Leader: A history of the University of Cambridge. Vol. 1: The university to 1546 . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1988. ISBN 0-521-32882-9 , p. 79
  9. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 215
  10. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 226
  11. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 179
  12. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 187
  13. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 254
  14. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 198
  15. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 209
  16. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 202
  17. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 200
predecessor Office successor
John Ketton Bishop of Ely
1316–1337 		Simon Montagu
Walter Norwich Lord High Treasurer
1317-1318 		John Walwayn
John sandal Lord Chancellor
1318-1320 		John Salmon
William Airmyn Lord Chancellor
1327-1328 		Henry Burghersh
personal data
SURNAME Hotham, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES De Hothum, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English clergyman and minister
DATE OF BIRTH 13th Century
PLACE OF BIRTH Hotham
DATE OF DEATH January 14, 1337
Place of death Somersham