Richard Blund

Richard Blund (also Albus , Blundus , Blond or Blondy ) († around December 26, 1257 in Exeter ) was an English clergyman. From 1244 he was Bishop of Exeter .

Origin and promotion to bishop

Richard Blund came from a distinguished Exeter family. His father was Hugh Blund , his brother Hilary held the post of provost of the city from 1224 to 1230 and again from about 1234 to 1235 . Almost nothing is known about his youth and education, but since he was called a master's degree , he must have attended university. He was a canon and finally chancellor at Exeter Cathedral . After the death of Bishop William Briwere , the cathedral chapter elected Blund as the new bishop to continue the reform work of Briwere. King Henry III confirmed the election on January 30 and again on April 17, 1245. On October 22, the episcopal ordination took place by Archbishop Boniface of Canterbury in Reading . For the celebration that followed, the king gave him six venison from the royal forests.

Bishop of Exeter

Only 35 documents and documents are known from Blund's term of office, many of which are not dated and none are sealed by witnesses. So there is almost no information about his administration. On January 6, 1247, he confirmed an agreement reached by Bishop Henry Marshal between the cathedral chapter and the archdeacon of Exeter, but on the other hand he tried to strengthen the authority of the bishop by forbidding the dean and the cathedral chapter to interdict over the city of Exeter impose. Politically he made little appearance. On June 17, 1244 he took part in the consecration of Beaulieu Abbey , in which the king and queen also took part. In the spring of 1253 he took part in a parliamentary assembly at which he, together with other bishops, threatened the excommunication of those who violated the provisions of the Magna Carta .

The most famous event of his tenure happened when Blund was lying dead or dying in the Bishops Palace in Exeter. A group of nine members of his household, including his chancellor and chamberlain Walter of Loddiswell , the notary and clerk Richard of Totnes , John Fitz Robert, the official of the bishop and the episcopal chaplain Henry took the opportunity to write a series of documents and to be provided with the episcopal seal in order to award a number of offices and benefices . Blund's successor, Walter of Bronescombe , learned of these forged documents and began an investigation, but ultimately the incident was kept secret after 1259 and not resolved.

Blund was considered an impeccable clergyman himself. The chronicler Matthew Paris described him as a worthy bishop because of his character and education. Blund left vestments and jewelry for the cathedral treasure.

Web links

• Frank Barlow: Blund, Richard (d. 1257). 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
William Briwere	Bishop of Exeter 1244–1257	Walter of Bronescombe