Ralph of Maidstone

Ralph of Maidstone (also Radulfus de Maidstone ) († January 27, 1245 in Gloucester ) was a bishop of the English diocese of Hereford .

Origin and education

The origin of Ralph of Maidstone is unknown, as is the year of his birth. However, it is unlikely that he was born after 1195. He is already mentioned in the first mentions of his master's degree , which is why he probably attended a university, probably Oxford or Paris , before 1220 .

Career as a clergyman and university lecturer

Presumably through the sponsorship of Bishop William of Cornhill , Ralph began his career as a clergyman in the Diocese of Coventry and Lichfield . In 1215 at the latest he was treasurer of Lichfield Cathedral , which he remained until at least 1223. Around 1220 he is named as Archdeacon of Shropshire , and around 1222 he was Archdeacon of Chester . However, it is no longer mentioned in England in the second half of the 1220s. Presumably he belonged to English theologians who, according to the chronicle of Matthew Paris, had taught at the University of Paris and, after unrest there, moved to Oxford in 1229. It was probably during this time that he, officially still Archdeacon of Chester, wrote a commentary on the sentences of Petrus Lombardus .

Before June 22, 1231, Maidstone was Chancellor of Oxford University, but after the death of Thomas of Bosbury , who died on September 29, 1231, he was succeeded as dean at Hereford Cathedral . Probably Robert Grosseteste , whom he knew from Oxford, had recommended him to Bishop Hugh Foliot of Hereford. Shortly after Hugh Foliot's death on August 7, 1234, Maidstone was elected as the new bishop. Already on September 30, 1234 he received the temporalities and on November 12 he was ordained bishop by Archbishop Edmund of Abingdon in Canterbury .

Serving as Bishop of Hereford

As dean, Maidstone had already been in the favor of King Henry III. confessed, which granted him twice the right to hunt deer in the Forest of Dean . In November 1235, Maidstone baptized little Henry , son of Richard of Cornwall , the king's younger brother in Hailes . Shortly thereafter, Maidstone traveled to Provence , from where he escorted Eleanor , the king's bride, to England. In addition, he was involved in negotiations with the Welsh prince Llywelyn from Iorwerth in 1235, 1236 and 1237 .

Resignation and death

Probably as early as May 1237, Maidstone was thinking of resigning from his office as bishop, when he confirmed his predecessor's determination to provide the episcopal property with sufficient funds and supplies for a vacancy in the diocese. To this end, he set up four new vicar positions at Hereford Cathedral and made donations in favor of the cathedral, including houses in London, missals and vestments, and relics. Apparently he had already taken an oath to join the Franciscan Order while he was Archdeacon of Chester . After he was seriously injured in a fall in 1238 and was therefore temporarily unable to celebrate mass, he openly expressed his desire to join the order. After resigning as bishop, he was inducted into the Franciscan Order on December 17, 1239 in Oxford. In Oxford he supported the building of the Franciscan Church, later he moved to the Franciscan Convent of Gloucester , where he died. He was buried in Gloucester Franciscan Church. He left a copy of the New Testament to the Franciscan Settlement in Canterbury, which is now in the British Library .

Web links

• Julia Barrow : Maidstone, Ralph of (d. 1245). 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
Hugh Foliot	Bishop of Hereford 1234-1239	Peter D'Aigueblanche