Robert of Wickhampton

Robert of Wickhampton († April 24-28 , 1284 ) was an English clergyman. From 1271 he was Bishop of Salisbury .

Origin and advancement as a clergyman

The origin of Robert of Wickhampton is unclear. He was an illegitimate child, which is why he needed a dispensation from the papal legate Otto for his ordination before 1241 . According to his name, he probably came from either Witchampton in Dorset or Wickhampton in Norfolk . Apparently he was studying, presumably at Oxford University . Probably before January 1239, but no later than December 21, 1239 he had graduated with a master's degree while serving as an official in the service of Robert of Bingham , Bishop of Salisbury. Between August 16, 1242 and December 7, 1243 he was canon at Salisbury Cathedral , and before August 1253 he was rector of Broad Hinton in Wiltshire . Between February 9, 1257 and January 17, 1259, he became Dean of Salisbury Cathedral. Due to his illegitimate birth, he received another dispensation from Pope Urban IV before February 1263 , and he was appointed papal chaplain before 1271 .

Bishop of Salisbury

Election to bishop

On February 23, 1271, Robert of Wickhampton was elected by the Cathedral Chapter as the new Bishop of the Diocese of Salisbury . On March 6, 1271, King Henry III voted . of choice too. However, the episcopal ordination of Wickhampton was delayed considerably, due to his naivete. When he was elected bishop, there was neither an Archbishop of Canterbury nor a Pope in office. Although was Adam of Churchill ends was elected Archbishop, but when Wick Hampton to confirm his choice of Canterbury traveled, had this to confirm his own choice for the papal curia traveled. Wickhampton now believed the claim by the monks of Canterbury Cathedral Priory that they were allowed to confirm bishopric elections in the ecclesiastical province of Canterbury during the vacancy of the Archdiocese . Wickhampton was confirmed by the monks as bishop, but the king did not recognize this and refused to hand over the temporalities of the Diocese of Salisbury. The bishops who were to consecrate Wickhampton at the invitation of the monks also refused to do so and turned to the Curia. This left Wickhampton's choice unconfirmed and unconsecrated, after which he himself traveled to the curia. It was not until July 15, 1274 that he was ordained bishop by Robert Kilwardby , the new Archbishop of Canterbury, on behalf of Pope Gregory X during the Second Council of Lyon . After his return to England, the temporalities were given to him on August 15, and on September 16, 1274 he was finally enthroned in Salisbury .

Activity as bishop

Despite being unconsecrated for over three years, Wickhampton had taken on some duties as bishop during that time. As a bishop he apparently remained in his diocese at all times, with the exception of a brief visit to London in October 1275. In contrast to many other English bishops of his time, he did not appear politically. On October 19, 1274, he made a visit to the Priory and Leper House of Maiden Bradley , the first documented visit to a monastery in the Diocese of Salisbury. During his tenure, a building within the Cathedral Freedom became the permanent seat of the Dean of the Cathedral in October 1277, this building was later called the Old Deanery and remained the official seat of the Dean until 1922. Wickhampton's efforts to record excommunications that he had imposed were noticeable . Fifty-four cases have been recorded in which he turned to the crown because the people against whom he had imposed the church sentence had not responded to him.

Blindness and death

In the late 1270s, Wickhampton progressively lost his eyesight, and in the early 1280s he became completely blind. On February 16, 1282, Archbishop John Pecham Wickhampton's confidante named Henry of Braunstone his coadjutor . Braunstone had served as Wickhampton Official before he was ordained bishop and had been Dorset Archdeacon since 1281 . In October 1277 a chancellor of the Diocese of Salisbury was mentioned for the first time. Around this time, chancellors were appointed for the first time in other English dioceses, so that this new office is probably not related to Wickhampton's deteriorating eyesight. Wickhampton spent at least the last two years of his life mainly on the episcopal estate of Ramsbury in Wiltshire. His last recorded official act was on January 21, 1284. After his death, he was buried in the Trinity Chapel of Salisbury Cathedral, but there is no evidence that a funeral memorial was erected over his grave.

Web links

• BR Kemp: Wickhampton, Robert of (d. 1284). 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
Walter de la Wyle	Bishop of Salisbury 1271–1284	Walter Scammel