Simon Ghent

Sarcophagus of Simon Ghent in Salisbury Cathedral

Simon Ghent (also Simon de Gandavo ) (* around 1250; † April 2, 1315 in London ) was an English clergyman. From 1297 he was Bishop of Salisbury .

Origin and education

The origin of Simon Ghent is unclear. Allegedly he was born in Westminster , and possibly he came from a London merchant family, originally from the Netherlands, perhaps from Ghent . In 1268 Archbishop Walter Giffard gave him the income from the Church of Wilford in Nottinghamshire for the cost of his studies . Presumably he studied fine arts at Oxford University . Before 1280 he completed this course with a master's degree .

Further studies and teaching

From 1284 and 1297 Ghent was archdeacon of Oxford , where he was studying theology at that time. As an archdeacon, he also served as a spiritual judge. In 1288 Bishop Anian of St Asaph asked him for a decision in his dispute with Bishop Swinfield of Hereford, which was ultimately decided by several judges in Swinfield's favor. In 1289, Ghent served as a mediator in the dispute between Bishop Godfrey Giffard in his dispute with the monks of the Cathedral Priory of Worcester . At Oxford, Ghent taught as Regius when he was elected Chancellor of the University on December 17, 1291 . On Ash Wednesday 1293 he gave a penitential sermon in which he warned against a sinful student life. Before November 1293 he resigned as chancellor.

Bishop of Salisbury

Choice and Ministry

On June 2, 1297, Ghent was elected bishop of the Diocese of Salisbury . It was consecrated by Archbishop Winchelsey , whom he already knew from Oxford. As a bishop he conscientiously assumed his office. In 1302 he complained to Pope Boniface VIII that numerous benefices at Salisbury Cathedral were filled with non-residents, and he later protested in vain against the appointment of Cardinal Guillaume Arrufat as dean of the cathedral. Contrary to current practice, he urged royal officials, whom the king had been given to provide benefits at his cathedral, to live in Salisbury and obey his orders. Only after direct pressure from King Edward I did Ghent refrain from making his demands. Ghent took up the Constitution Cum ex eo published by Pope Boniface VIII in 1298 and promoted the formation of clergy in his diocese. According to this instruction, rectors were allowed to stay away from their office for up to seven years while retaining their income so that they could study and be ordained. Accordingly, between October 1298 and February 1314, he issued a dispensation to more than 300 clergymen so that they could study the liberal arts, theology or canon law in Oxford, but also in Cambridge , Orléans or Paris . Ghent carefully monitored whether the clergy were completing their studies and keeping the time. With the clergy of the cathedral chapter he insisted on theological readings as prescribed by the Fourth Lateran Council . Through these measures he succeeded in considerably increasing the proportion of trained clergy in his diocese. Ghent promoted the careers of Oxford students, particularly those of theologians William de Bosco , who became Chancellor of the Diocese of Salisbury, Walter Burdon , Richard of Winchester , Adam Orleton, and Roger Martival , who succeeded him as bishop. In 1314 he granted the Salisbury Chapter housing assistance for a school that trained fourteen choristers and a teacher. The reform of the statutes of the cathedral planned by him was implemented by his successor.

Political activity

Ghent stubbornly claimed his worldly highness in Salisbury. His attempt to collect a valley , a property tax, from the citizens of Salisbury in 1302 led to a serious dispute with the citizens. However, in 1306 he was able to reach an agreement in the dispute with the city that was advantageous for him. In Salisbury he had the town hall built as a courthouse, and he allowed the city to build a city wall.

In 1299 Eduard I sent Ghent to France as an envoy for peace negotiations during the war with France. When Archbishop Winchelsey was not in England in 1308, he named Ghent as one of three bishops who were allowed to coronate Edward II in his absence , although Ghent described himself as too old and weak for the task. Ultimately, Bishop Henry Woodlock of Winchester performed the coronation. In 1310, Ghent was appointed as one of the Lords Ordainers who should set up a reform program for the government. As the only one of the English bishops, he did not raise any troops for a campaign in Scotland that year . On September 27, 1311, he announced the ordinances on behalf of Winchelsey in the churchyard of St Paul's Cathedral in London . After that he was no longer politically active due to his poor health. This and the death of Winchelsey in 1313 considerably weakened the political cohesion of the English bishops.

The chronicler Trivet praised Ghent as an extremely educated and unusually religious man. He is credited with the short Meditacio de statu prelati and a Latin version of the Ancren Riwle , originally written by the Cistercian women in Tarrant , Dorset . He died in his London town house and was buried in Salisbury Cathedral. Soon after his burial, miracles are said to have occurred at his grave.

literature

• Gandavo, (Simon de). In: Johann Heinrich Zedler : Large complete universal lexicon of all sciences and arts . Volume 10, Leipzig 1735, column 238.

Web links

• Roy Martin Haines: Ghent, Simon (c. 1250-1315). 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
Nicholas Longespée	Bishop of Salisbury 1297-1315	Roger Martival