Roger Niger

The tomb of Roger Niger in the old St Paul's Cathedral. Illustration from the 17th century

Roger Niger (also Roger le Noir or Roger de Bileye ; † September 29 or October 2, 1241 in Stepney ) was a bishop of the English diocese of London .

Origin and studies

Roger's nickname de Bileye , sometimes mentioned, suggests that he came from Beeleigh , Essex . Only the first names Ralph and Margery have been passed down from his parents . Roger undoubtedly studied at a university and graduated with a master's degree . His friendship with Edmund of Abingdon suggests he studied at Oxford , but it is more likely that he studied in Paris .

Career as a clergyman

Around 1212 Niger received a benefice in Ealdland and before November 27, 1218, possibly as early as 1216, he became archdeacon of Colchester . In 1228 he was elected Bishop of London by the cathedral chapter of St Paul's Cathedral . Like most episcopal elections during King Henry III's youth . his election was hardly influenced by the king or the government. Niger's election was confirmed by the king on April 27, 1229, when he handed over the temporalities , and on June 10, 1229 he was ordained bishop.

Bishop of London

Relationship with the king

As a bishop, Niger vigorously defended the rights of the church against the king. As archdeacon he was with Heinrich III in 1225. got into a dispute when he did not recognize special rights of the collegiate church of St Martin's-le-Grand, a separate church of the king in London, and claimed his priority over the dean . The king forbade the ecclesiastical courts to take up the case and turned to Pope Honorius III. who gave the collegiate church right. As Bishop Niger forced the king twice in September 1232 and in October 1233 the fallen Justiciar Hubert de Burgh again sanctuary to grant after followers of the king had forcibly expelled from churches this. When Niger returned to England from a trip to Rome in 1233, he met Bishop Walter Mauclerk of Carlisle in Dover , who at that time had fallen into royal disfavor. Since the king had forbidden him to leave the country, Mauclerk was led by royal officials from the ship with which he wanted to travel into exile. Niger immediately excommunicated the officials involved and traveled to the king in Hereford , where he repeated the ban in front of the king, despite his annoyance.

Despite these conflicts, the king called him several times as advisor and mediator and upheld Niger's rights as bishop. Together with the other bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Canterbury , the king called him to Oxford in 1231 to discuss the war with Wales with him . In 1235 Niger mediated in the dispute between Earl Warenne and the Prior of Cluny , when they quarreled over the appointment and installation of a prior for Lewes Priory . In 1236, King Walter de Burgh did not allow a chapel in Romford , Essex, to be used as a burial place until he had discussed this with Bishop Niger. In 1234 the king ordered that an accused of murder should be handed over to his officials at the request of Bishop Niger, and in 1237 the Constable of the Tower should hand over the clergy to the bishops of London and Lincoln who were involved in a revolt against the papal legate Oddone in Osney were involved. However, if the bishops so wished, the accused should remain detained in the Tower. In addition, the king granted the bishop several gifts and privileges. 1232 the king granted to hold a weekly market in Acton , and in 1235 he issued the Niger for the suppression of the uprising of Richard Marshal overdue Scutage of 40 marks . In 1240 the king gave him 15 stags from the royal forests, which the bishop was allowed to hunt himself, and even after Roger's death the king waived the penalty of 10 marks imposed by a judge, which Roger's executor should instead spend on candles on the bishop's grave.

Internal church conflicts

Niger also tried to enforce its rights within the church. Although he was generally well disposed towards the Franciscan Order , he claimed spiritual jurisdiction over the Order and required the brothers to swear obedience to him. The Franciscans then turned to the papal curia . On August 21, 1231, Pope Gregory IX issued the bull Nimis iniqua , according to which the Franciscans were not only subordinate to the jurisdiction of the bishops in the diocese of London but worldwide, but directly to the Pope. In 1232 Niger had to travel to Rome himself, where he had to answer for attacks on Italian clergy in England. Although he had previously excommunicated the perpetrators, he was only able to demonstrate his innocence in Rome through a complex process. The cost of this was increased by the fact that he was robbed in Parma while traveling to Rome . In 1247 or 1248 the city of Parma vowed to donate a corresponding sum for the construction of London's St Paul's Cathedral, as the citizens believed that the city had been cursed since the robbery.

Act as a bishop

As a bishop, Niger was a conscientious administrator of his diocese. He issued a series of ordinances for the Archdeaconate of London which, in his own words, were intended to help solve the structural problems of the churches in London caused by the size and population density of the City of London . The clergy in the individual London parishes were to meet at regular intervals and jointly manage foundations for the benefit of the general public, so that no district was preferred. The punishment he laid down for clergymen who stayed away from these meetings should be redeemed in wine at the next meeting.

Niger strengthened the rights of the dean and the cathedral chapter of St Paul's Cathedral. He not only confirmed the dispositions of his predecessors, but also allowed the chapter to independently impose the interdict on defaulting tenants and debtors who owed rent or money to the church or excommunicate them. These church sanctions should apply throughout the Diocese of London. To settle disputes between St Paul's and the monasteries Walden Abbey and Colchester Abbey in Essex, he set up arbitration tribunals, each of which decided in favor of St Paul's. On behalf of the Pope, Niger elected Luke as the new Archbishop of Dublin in 1229 , and in 1235 heard John of Hertford , the newly elected Abbot of St Albans , whom he subsequently found fit for the office.

Towards the end of his tenure as archdeacon, he had bequeathed his house in the churchyard of St Paul's to his successors in office. As bishop he confirmed a similar donation from Henry of Cornhill , the chancellor of the diocese. To this end, he sponsored the construction of St Paul's Cathedral. On October 1, 1240, he consecrated the cathedral's new choir . He was buried in St Paul's, his heart presumably in his presumed hometown of Beeleigh.

Aftermath

Niger was respected as a bishop during his lifetime and was even considered a saint by many. Soon after his death, his grave became a medieval pilgrimage destination. The chronicler Matthew Paris praised him as an educated and honorable man who had stood up for the Church without any pride.

Web links

• RM Franklin: Niger, Roger (d. 1241). 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
• Catholic hierarchy: Bishop Roger Niger †

predecessor	Office	successor
Eustace de Fauconberg	Bishop of London 1228–1241	Fulk basset