Richard Hoton

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Richard Hoton († January 9, 1308 in Poitiers ) was a prior of the Cathedral Chapter of Durham . He became known through his years of fighting with Bishop Antony Bek .

Career as a clergyman

Richard Hoton was named after the village of Hutton near Guisborough in Yorkshire . Possibly he was an uncle of John Hoton who donated the family's lands to the Guisborough Priory in 1335 . He was considered an educated and distinguished Benedictine monk of the cathedral chapter of Durham , who by his own account did not strive for secular dignity. In 1283 the monks named him one of the seven electors who elected Antony Bek as the new Bishop of Durham on July 9th . Before 1286, Hoton was the successor to Roger of Methley sub prior . When Bek was installed as bishop, he demanded the resignation of the previous prior Richard of Claxton , while Hoton should take over the supervision of the monks of the cathedral chapter as subprior. As a bishop, Bek was also the abbot of the cathedral chapter and therefore claimed the administration of its lands. Bek so intimidated the monks, forcing Henry of Horncastle , the prior of Coldingham , to act on them. However, when Hugh of Darlington , who had been prior of the cathedral chapter between 1258 and 1272, was re-elected prior on January 11, 1286 , Hoton transferred to the small monastic cell of Lytham in Lancashire , while he demoted Coldingham to a simple monk. When Darlington resigned from office in 1290, the Cathedral Chapter elected Hoton as the new Prior of Durham on March 24, 1290.

Dispute with Bishop Bek

Hoton proved to be an able steward who increased the priory's income to £ 3985 by 1293. He began coal mining in Spennymoor and bought a house in Oxford for the monks of the cathedral chapter who studied at the university there. In May 1300, however, a protracted argument began with Bishop Bek when he announced an official visit to the cathedral chapter due to complaints about Hoton's administration . Hoton replied that the bishop had so far only had the right to a personal visit without further entourage, and complained to the Archbishops of York and Canterbury and the Pope in Rome. As a result , Bek excommunicated the prior and his followers, blocked the priory and confiscated the lands. In June 1300 King Edward I tried to mediate, but both the bishop and Hoton remained irreconcilable. On August 10, 1300, Bek appointed Henry of Lusby , the prior of Lindisfarne , as the new prior of the cathedral chapter. Bishop's troops stormed the priory on August 21, and three days later, on August 24, Hoton was dragged from the choir stalls of Durham Cathedral and arrested. In December, however, he escaped from custody and indicted the bishop before the king and before Pope Boniface VIII . The Pope reinstated Hoton as prior in February 1302. Bek, however, initiated another procedure at the papal curia against Hoton, whereupon the Pope issued an order in July 1302, according to which the bishop was allowed to visit the cathedral chapter with an entourage of up to three officials and a notary. However, that did not end the proceedings. In autumn 1306, Hoton traveled to the Curia in France to have Pope Clement V confirm his reinstatement. He was re-confirmed as prior in October 1307 for a fee of allegedly 1,000 marks , but died a little later in France.

consequences

The lawsuits that Hoton had led to his position had forced him to take out loans from foreign moneylenders. These costs weighed heavily on the cathedral chapter and resulted in a strong reluctance on the part of the monks to pursue further disputes with the bishops in court. The Debent order , which Pope Boniface had issued on the episcopal visitation of the cathedral chapter , was incorporated into canon law .

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personal data
SURNAME Richard Hoton
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English clergyman, prior of Durham
DATE OF BIRTH 13th Century
DATE OF DEATH January 9, 1308
Place of death Poitiers