Robert Waldby

Robert Waldby (also Waldeby ) (* around 1335; † December 27, 1397 ) was an English clergyman. He was bishop of four dioceses, most recently Archbishop of York .

Origin and education

Robert Waldby was probably from Yorkshire . He was related to the preacher John Waldby († 1372), who was probably an uncle or cousin of him. On the other hand, the thesis that John Waldby was his brother is very unlikely. Nothing is known about Robert's youth. He entered the Augustinian order and was ordained a priest between March 1361 and March 1362 in the area of ​​the Archdiocese of York. Presumably he had previously studied at Oxford . In 1382 Waldby was called Tholosanus , which suggests that he also studied in Toulouse , where in 1365 Pope Urban V sent the monks of the Augustinian order to study. According to information on Waldby's grave memorial , he had connections with the Augustinian settlement in Tickhill . In 1383 he was designated a master of theology and professor of theology. After his grave monument, he had also studied Roman law and possibly medicine.

Advancement as a clergyman

Official in France and Bishop of Aire

Waldby apparently served the Black Prince as an official in Aquitaine during the Hundred Years War . On April 1, 1383, he belonged to an English embassy to Aragón and on August 20, 1389 he was appointed keeper of the seal of the Seneschal of Aquitaine . Occasionally he is also referred to as Chancellor of Aquitaine, which is probably a misunderstanding. On June 4, 1386, Pope Urban VI appointed him . for his service to the Bishop of Aire . At times he was also referred to as Bishop of Aire and St Quittière and incorrectly referred to as Bishop of Sodor . During the Great Schism , English-occupied Aquitaine supported the popes in Rome, while opposing France supported the counter- popes in Avignon . As the diocese of Aire was not a wealthy diocese, Waldby acquired in 1388 the income from various benefices in France that had been confiscated from the English crown during the war.

Archbishop of Dublin, Bishop of Chichester and Archbishop of York

From the late 1380s on, Waldby was one of the close supporters of King Richard II. According to the inscription on his grave monument, he may have been the king's personal physician , but this is not certain. Through the support of the king, Waldby was made Archbishop of Dublin on November 14, 1390 . Waldby did not visit his new diocese, however, but received on October 30, 1391 Richard II the lifelong permission not to have to travel to Ireland. Nevertheless, he was made Chancellor of Ireland in February 1392 , which was confirmed in July of that year. He stayed away from Ireland, but because of his office he attended several meetings of the royal council in 1392. In March 1394 he was again allowed to stay in England despite his offices. However, when Richard II set out on a campaign to Ireland in the autumn of 1394, Waldby accompanied the king. In 1395 he was briefly the keeper of the Great Seal of Ireland. In 1395 he was one of the ambassadors who traveled to France to meet with the French King Charles VI. to negotiate a marriage between Richard II and the French princess Isabelle . On November 3, 1395, Waldby changed diocese again and became Bishop of Chichester . Although he was downgraded from archbishop to bishop, the move allowed him to stay in closer contact with the king. In addition, he had more income from the Diocese of Chichester than from the Irish Archdiocese. On October 5, 1396, Waldby changed his diocese again when he became Archbishop of York. Allegedly, the Cathedral Chapter of York voted against his appointment, but this has not been proven with certainty, but there have been allegations of simony . As far as is known, he never came to York, but left the administration of the archdiocese to his vicar general . However, he died about a year later, probably in London, possibly also in Gloucester , of the consequences of a broken tibia. When he died, he was in financial difficulties. The king allowed him to be buried in Westminster Abbey .

Working as a theologian

Waldby was a learned theologian who actively opposed heresy and heresy . In his book collection was also a book that opposed the teachings of Wycliffe . In 1382 he took part as a theologian at the Earthquake Synod in London, which, under the direction of Archbishop William Courtenay, condemned the ideas of Wyclif and the Lollards . In 1392 he took part in a synod in Stamford. In 1391 he and the other Irish bishops were given permission to arrest heretical preachers, this permission probably directed less against followers of Wyclif than against supporters of the antipope Clement VII . His donation to support the rebuilding of the University College Chapel in Oxford was recognized in a window inscription. However, since no writings have been preserved by Waldby, his influence on the English Church of the late 14th century cannot be proven.

Web links

• RN Swanson: Waldby, Robert (c.1335-1397). 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

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Westminster Abbey: Robert Waldeby. Retrieved January 22, 2018 . 

predecessor	Office	successor
Jean de Montaut	Bishop of Aire 1386-1390	Maurice Usk
Robert Wikeford	Archbishop of Dublin 1390–1395	Richard Northalis
Richard Mitford	Bishop of Chichester 1395-1396	Robert Reade
Thomas Arundel	Archbishop of York 1396-1397	Richard le Scrope