Richard Fox (Bishop)

Bishop Richard Fox (early 19th century oil painting)

Richard Fox (also Richard Foxe ; * between 1446 and 1448 near Grantham , Lincolnshire ; † October 5, 1528 in Winchester , Hampshire ) was an English humanist , statesman and prelate . He was Bishop of Exeter , Bath and Wells , Durham and Winchester . Furthermore, Fox was Lord Seal Keeper from 1487 to 1516 and founder of Corpus Christi College .

There are no reliable historical sources about the first half of Richard Fox's life. In 1484 he was studying law in Paris and was in contact with Henry Tudor, Richard III's opponent . for the English throne. After Tudor won the Wars of the Roses and was crowned Henry VII , the rise of Richard Fox began. After Henry VII came to power he was his secretary until 1487, then his lord seal keeper and advisor. In 1487 the king made him Bishop of Exeter and five years later Bishop of Bath and Wells . However, he never took up either post because of his political responsibilities.

In 1491 he baptized the future King Henry VIII. A year later, Fox was largely responsible for the Treaty of Étaples . Richard Fox was rewarded with the dioceses of Durham (1497) and Winchester (1501) for his efforts to achieve peace with Scotland . In 1500 he became Chancellor of Cambridge University and in 1507 Master of Pembroke College . Even under Henry VIII, who ascended the English throne in 1508, Fox's influence remained unbroken. This only changed with the rise of Thomas Wolsey . In 1516 he gave up his position as Lord Seal Keeper in protest against Wolsey's foreign policy and devoted himself to his duties as bishop. In the same year he founded Corpus Christi College in Oxford .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 93
2. ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 226
3. ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 206
4. ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 221
5. ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 258

literature

• Ronny Baier:  Richard Fox. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 22, Bautz, Nordhausen 2003, ISBN 3-88309-133-2 , Sp. 337-342.

Web links

Commons : Richard Foxe  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

predecessor	Office	successor
Peter Courtenay	Bishop of Exeter 1487–1492	Oliver King
Robert Stillington	Bishop of Bath and Wells 1492–1494	Oliver King
John Shirwood	Bishop of Durham 1494–1501	William Senhouse
Thomas Langton	Bishop of Winchester 1501–1528	Thomas Wolsey