Roger de Pont l'Évêque

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Roger de Pont l'Évêque. Book illustration from the 13th century

Roger de Pont l'Évêque (* around 1115; † November 22 or 26, 1181 ) was an Anglo-Norman clergyman. From 1154 he was Archbishop of York .

Origin and education

The origin of Roger de Pont l'Évêque is unclear. He came from Normandy , but of his family only his nephew Geoffrey is known, whom he appointed provost of Beverley and archdeacon of York as archbishop . Possibly he was related to Theobald de Thierville , who was Abbot of Bec and later became Archbishop of Canterbury. Pont l'Évêque , the presumed birthplace of Roger, is 50 km west of Thierville , and Roger is first mentioned in 1139 as a clerk in Archbishop Theobald's household. Apparently he had received an excellent education because he had a good command of Latin and was a convincing speaker. He also had extensive legal knowledge, which he might have acquired at a school in Auxerre , France . However, there are no known writings by Roger. Although he had a long friendship with Master Vacarius , a teacher from Bologna who wrote a textbook on Roman law with Liber Pauperum , Roger himself is not known to have any writings. The friendship with Vacarius probably originated from school together. Around 1145 Vacarius switched to the service of Archbishop Theobald, where Roger was already living, and later he accompanied him to York.

Advancement as a clergyman

Rise in the household of Theobald of Canterbury

A talented and ambitious young clergyman, Roger rose quickly in Archbishop Theobald's household. At that time there were several other young clergy members in the household. When the younger Thomas Becket came into the Archbishop's household, Roger teased the awkward Becket at first, but soon became friends with him. Roger also had a close friendship with the young John of Canterbury . Roger, John and Becket are said to have agreed to promote each other later as clergy.

Roger was in high favor with Archbishop Theobald. After Theobald had appointed his brother Walter , the previous Archdeacon of Canterbury, Bishop of Rochester, he gave the office of Archdeacon to Roger in early 1148. Through this lucrative office this received annual income of at least £ 100. In March 1148 the Archbishop took Roger and Becket to France, where he attended the Council of Reims , contrary to the prohibition of King Stephen of Blois . In the next few years Roger served as the Archbishop's official , for whom he testified numerous documents.

The Winchester scandal

Probably already as archdeacon, Roger developed his greed, for which he later became notorious, and only the intercession of Bishop Walter of Rochester, the archbishop's brother, saved him from dismissal. Presumably in 1152 he was accused of a crime. As recently as 1172, a confidante of the murdered Thomas Becket who was not named, probably John of Salisbury , reminded Archbishop Wilhelm von Sens of a scandal that had occurred during a visit to Bishop Heinrich von Winchester , an uncle of Wilhelm, by Rogers . During this time Wilhelm von Sens was on a visit. Roger is said to have sexually abused a boy named Walter. When Walter later reported this incident, he is said to have been blinded by Roger . When Walter wanted to make this crime public, Roger had him sentenced by secular judges dependent on him and executed by hanging. Roger is said to have escaped punishment for this monstrous crime only because Roger's friend Becket brought John de Pageham , Bishop of Worcester and Hilary , Bishop of Chichester, to appeal to Archbishop Theobald on behalf of Roger. Archbishop Theobald took in the seclusion of the chapter house of the Cathedral of Canterbury in Rogers Sorry, but put him in penance a pilgrimage to Rome. In Rome, Roger received from Pope Eugene III. the absolution , after Abbot Gilbert Foliot has used of Gloucester in a letter to the Pope nor in favor of Roger.

Archbishop of York

Election as archbishop

Archbishop Theobald used his office as papal legate in 1154 to persuade the cathedral chapter of York to elect Roger as the new archbishop. Theobald was assisted by Robert de Gant , the dean of the cathedral chapter, and by Osbert de Bayeux , the archdeacon of York. In the presence of eight other bishops, Roger was ordained bishop on October 10, 1154 by Theobald in Westminster Abbey . He is said to have failed to take Roger the promise of obedience . Then Roger traveled to Pope Anastasius IV , from whom he received the pallium . On December 19, Roger was back in London and attended the coronation of Henry II by Archbishop Theobald. As Archbishop of York, Roger gave up his previous ecclesiastical offices. Archbishop Theobald appointed Thomas Becket to succeed Rogers as Archdeacon of Canterbury, to whom Roger also procured the lucrative office of Provost of Beverley . Roger made his other friend, John of Canterbury, Treasurer of York and Archdeacon of East Riding of Yorkshire . In 1155 Archbishop Theobald was able to persuade the king to appoint Becket as royal chancellor . He believed that he was not only rewarding his confidants, but also securing the position of the Archdiocese of Canterbury.

Roger initially had a difficult position as Archbishop of York. York Minster was badly damaged by fire in 1137. His two predecessors as archbishop, William Fitzherbert and Henry Murdac , had feuded violently, sometimes even violently. Archdeacon Osbert was suspected of murdering Bishop William Fitzherbert, and ultimately the Archbishops of York claimed spiritual suzerainty over the Scottish dioceses, ultimately claiming to be pari passu with the Archbishops of Canterbury. Roger therefore acted cautiously in his new office and was able to maintain his good relationship with Archbishop Theobald. When there was a schism over the election of the Pope after 1159 , he energetically supported Alexander III.

Relationship as Archbishop to Thomas Becket

Dispute over supremacy

After Archbishop Theobald's death in 1162, Thomas Becket became the new Archbishop of Canterbury. During the vacancy following Theobald's death, Roger had been the most senior English bishop. During this time he was able to claim a number of privileges, and after Becket's election he claimed the right to ordain Becket as bishop. However, this claim was successfully rejected by the bishops of the Canterbury ecclesiastical province , as Roger had so far not pledged obedience to the Archbishops of Canterbury. As a result, Roger stepped up his attempts to assert his claimed privileges. Roger even claimed precedence over Becket, as he had been made archbishop earlier than him. Therefore he claimed the right to have a cross carried in front of him in all of England and also in Scotland. When King Henry II and his former friend Becket fell out from 1163, the king now supported Roger's claim to priority over Becket, which would make Roger head of the English Church. However, in the face of opposition, the king quickly dropped this idea. Although Roger represented his claim as primate at the Council of Tours in 1163 , Pope Alexander III. never acknowledged his claims. Instead, the Pope was careful that neither of the two English archbishops could claim priority. That is why he almost never granted them irrevocable privileges and only with restrictions, and he always limited his orders to the respective ecclesiastical province. Nevertheless, the conflict over the primacy of the two archbishops continued for several years. Both Roger and Becket turned to the Curia repeatedly . Ultimately, they were judged about the same, which meant a small success for Roger, since Becket's predecessors as Archbishops of Canterbury had had priority over the Archbishops of York.

Attitude at the beginning of the conflict between the King and Becket

During the quarrel between the King and Archbishop Becket, Roger took part in the Royal Council of Westminster in October 1163 , that of Clarendon in January 1164 and that of Northampton in October 1164 . At the beginning of the dispute, he cautiously supported Becker's position in the dispute as to whether ecclesiastical or royal courts were allowed to judge secular misconduct by clergy. After the Clarendon council meeting, Roger stopped supporting his old friend. Alongside Bishops Gilbert Foliot of London and Hilary of Chichester, he was now openly on the side of the king. After Becket had fled to France in October 1164, Roger belonged to the royal embassy in December 1164, along with four other bishops and a few barons, which negotiated with the French King Louis VII and then with the Pope in Sens, France . At the papal court, after the lectures of Bishops Gilbert Foliot of London and Hilary of Chichester, Roger spoke briefly and soberly in favor of the king's attitude.

Role in the assassination of Becket

After that, Roger rarely commented on the dispute between Becket and the king. However, when a compromise between Becket and the king had been reached in 1170, it was the coronation of the young king's son Heinrich as co-king by Roger on June 14, 1170, which let the dispute break out again. At least ten other bishops from England and Normandy took part in the ceremony, with Roger playing the leading role and presumably ignoring instructions from the Pope who wanted to prevent the coronation. With the coronation he had deeply injured Becket's pride, since as Archbishop of Canterbury he traditionally claimed the right to coronate the English kings. Becket asked the Pope to be able to punish the bishops involved, concluded a settlement with Henry II in Fréteval on July 21, 1170 and then imposed church sentences on the bishops. On September 16, 1170 , he suspended Roger as archbishop. The news of this reached Roger before Becket even returned to England. Becket refused to withdraw the suspension because, in his view, only the Pope could decide to lift the sentence imposed on the Archbishop of York. Thereupon Roger brought the similarly affected Bishops Gilbert Foliot of London and Jocelin of Salisbury to travel to the Christmas court of the king in Bur-le-Roi near Bayeux . There they complained bitterly about Becket. Some knights of the royal entourage interpreted the king's outburst of anger as an invitation to murder Becket, which they put into practice on December 29, 1170. There were later rumors that Roger financially supported the four knights who committed the murder. It was not until December 13, 1171 that the Pope in Aumale lifted the impeachment of Roger. His confidante Master Vacarius was among his advocates who swore his innocence. After his reinstatement as Archbishop, Roger stood up in turn to the Pope on behalf of the remaining bishops, who were still punished by the Church, whom he described as victims of Becket.

Further work as archbishop

Supporter of the king

Even after Becket's death, Roger remained a staunch supporter of the king. When a rebellion against the king broke out in 1173, instead of the usual 20 knights that the Archdiocese of York was supposed to provide, he raised a total of 60 under his Constable Ralph de Tilly to support the royal army in northern England. This contingent succeeded in July 1174 in capturing the Scottish King William I, who had invaded northern England, near Alnwick . As a result, the castles of Kirkby Malzeard , Roxburgh and Scarborough fell under Roger's administration. The Scottish king had to submit to the English king before his release, and as a result Roger extended his sovereignty over the Scottish bishops.

Power struggle with Archbishop Richard of Dover

In January 1176, Richard of Dover , the new Archbishop of Canterbury, denied Rogers' position as Metropolitan for Scotland at a council meeting in Northampton . As a result, neither Roger nor Richard could enforce their claim to spiritual sovereignty in Scotland. After that, Roger appeared only once as papal legate in Scotland. In the meantime, King Henry II and Pope Alexander III, who had worked closely together since May 1172, tried to end the unworthy power struggle between the two English archbishops. On October 6, 1174, the Pope instructed the two Bishops Jocelin of Salisbury and Hugh of Durham to clarify the rights to the primacy , the right to carry the cross and other issues. In May 1175, Roger refused to attend an ecclesiastical council that Richard of Dover had convened as Metropolitan in Westminster. Instead, he sent officials who made excessive claims to his rank. At the end of October 1175, the papal legate Hugo Pierleoni arrived in England and made another attempt to end the power struggle. The legate initially achieved that both sides would recognize a judgment by Rotrou de Beaumont , the Archbishop of Rouen and his suffragan bishops in the dispute. Then he managed that the two archbishops would let their quarrel rest until Michaelmas 1176. For March 1176 the legate convened a church council in Westminster. On this, Roger is said to have been physically attacked, knocked to the ground and kicked by Richard's supporters, especially Bishop Geoffrey Ridel von Ely. As a result, on August 15, 1176, the king imposed a five-year armistice between the two archbishops, which was observed.

Serving as Archbishop of York

Roger managed to maintain an excellent relationship with his powerful suffragan bishop Hugh of Durham. As a good lawyer, he was able to settle disputes amicably between this and Bishop Geoffrey von Lincoln , as well as disputes with his own cathedral chapter , as a commissioned papal judge . As a capable steward, Roger amassed a vast fortune. Allegedly at his death he owned £ 11,000 in silver, £ 300 in gold, and a large amount of silver jewelry and other silver items. Despite this wealth, it was also at times wasteful. In 1176 he is said to have paid 11,000 marks so that his nephew Geoffrey became chancellor of the young fellow king Heinrich. He began the new construction of the choir and the crypts of York Minster , for which he donated several precious crucifixes and numerous relics , some of which supposedly came from Rome. Adjacent to the minster, he built a palace that had a lavishly decorated chapel. He also remodeled his other residences, bequeathed an annual sum to York Cathedral School and donated £ 1,000 to build Ripon Minster .

death

Roger had already been seriously ill in March 1177. In addition, he had to cope with the death of his nephew, who drowned in a shipwreck in September 1177. Roger did not participate in the Third Lateran Council in 1179 . Shortly before his death in November 1181 he called many of the leading clergy in his diocese to one of his residences, either Cawood or the neighboring Sherburn Manor near Elmet . There he distributed his fortune for the benefit of the poor and sick. Bishop Hugh of Durham is said to have received 300 marks for the needy in Durham, and the archbishops of Sens , Rouen, and Canterbury received 500 marks each. Hugh of Durham presided over his funeral in the new York Minster choir. As soon as he learned of Roger's death, the king had his movable property and property confiscated and declared Roger's donations invalid because he had already made them terminally ill, but the extent to which he actually received the property has not been clarified. After Roger's death, the Archdiocese of York remained vacant until 1189. It was not until shortly before his death that King Henry II appointed his illegitimate son Geoffrey as the new archbishop.

Contemporary rating

Archbishop Roger remained a controversial figure accused of greed and a worldly life. The chronicler William of Newburgh accused him of hating monks and canons in general. Instead, he would have given canon positions to unworthy and sometimes even underage candidates. According to Newburgh, Roger would have shown a greater interest in the financial exploitation of his possessions rather than caring for the salvation of his confidants. However, Roger von Hoveden found that during his tenure the Archdiocese of York was well administered for 27 years, and Thomas Stubbs found in the 14th century that Roger had worked for the glory of God and contributed to the decoration of the Church.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Frank Barlow: Thomas Becket . University of California Press, Berkeley 1986, ISBN 0-520-05920-4 , p. 33
  2. ^ David Knowles: The episcopal colleagues of Archbishop Thomas Becket . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1951, p. 12
  3. ^ Frank Barlow: Thomas Becket . University of California Press, Berkeley 1986, ISBN 0-520-05920-4 , p. 34
  4. Wilfred Lewis Warren: Henry II. University of California Press, Berkeley 1983. ISBN 0-520-03494-5 , p. 503
  5. ^ David Knowles: The episcopal colleagues of Archbishop Thomas Becket . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1951, p. 81
  6. ^ David Knowles: The episcopal colleagues of Archbishop Thomas Becket . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1951, p. 136
predecessor Office successor
William Fitzherbert Archbishop of York
1154–1181
Geoffrey of York