Walter Scammel

Walter Scammel († uncertain: September 23, 1286 ) was an English clergyman. From 1284 he was Bishop of Salisbury .

Origin and studies

Walter Scammel was a son of Robert and Matilda Scammel and probably came from Dorset . Nothing else is known about its origin. In 1256 he bought property near Poerston , which may have meant Poorton in Dorset. In Dorset he leased a small estate at Handley in 1269 . Scammel may have studied at Oxford University . In 1262 he is designated a master , and by October 1276 he attained the degree of doctor of both rights .

Advancement as a clergyman and in the service of the crown

Scammel initially served as a clergyman in the Diocese of Worcester , where he served as official to Bishop Walter de Cantilupe in 1257 and 1258 . He resigned from this office before July 12, 1262. He was before June 1262 canon at Salisbury Cathedral . In January 1263 he was one of the four representatives of the Salisbury Cathedral Chapter in the election of Bishop Walter de la Wyle . Before April 22, 1265 he was Archdeacon of Berkshire and before February 13, 1268 Treasurer of Salisbury Cathedral. On September 9, 1271 he was elected dean of the cathedral. In December 1267 he served in nine dioceses as the collector of the papal tithe , the income of which was awarded to the king. As a result, he took on other duties for the king. In December 1271 he took over the administration of the vacant Wilton Abbey for the crown . Together with Matthew de Columbariis , he was commissioned in March 1275 to inspect the royal forests in eighteen southern English counties, and in November 1279 the royal forests in Shropshire . In gratitude for these services, King Edward I procured him a benefice at St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin before September 17, 1278 .

Bishop of Salisbury

Election to bishop

Although Scammel was a man of the king through his services, he was elected bishop of the Diocese of Salisbury on June 26, 1284 by the cathedral chapter in an apparently free election . Apparently, for the first time, three canons were employed as electoral officers, who evaluated the written votes of the cathedral chapter. With 24 out of 33 votes, Scammel received a clear majority of the votes. On July 24, 1284, the king approved the election, and on August 10, Scammel was given the diocesan temporalities . The episcopal ordination was delayed because the monks of the cathedral priory of Canterbury had to agree that the ordination should not take place in Canterbury. On October 22nd, Scammel was ordained bishop by Archbishop Pecham in Sonning , Berkshire . Because he had violated the rights of Canterbury Cathedral Priory by being consecrated there, Scammel had to pay the monks a fee of £ 100 under pressure from the king. On January 4, 1285 Scammel was enthroned in Salisbury .

Activity as bishop

Little is known of Scammel's brief tenure as bishop. Even before his enthronement he had begun visiting his diocese. On December 19, 1284 he was at Reading Abbey , where the monastery was practically insolvent. The crown temporarily took over the management of the abbey's possessions in 1286, but it was above all the strict savings imposed by Scammel that ultimately led to the financial rehabilitation of the monastery. In late 1284 , Scammel excommunicated Sir Osbert Gifford , who had kidnapped two nuns from Wilton Abbey. Eventually Scammel punished the knight with a humiliating ceremony in Salisbury Cathedral.

On September 9, 1286 Scammel attended a meeting of the Cathedral Chapter in Salisbury. He is said to have died a fortnight later. He was buried in the cathedral, probably in the Trinity Chapel .

Web links

• BR Kemp: Scammel, Walter (d. 1286). 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 1284–1286	Henry of Braunstone