Simon of Walton

Simon of Walton (also Simon de Wauton ) († around January 1, 1266 ) was an English clergyman and judge. From 1257 he was Bishop of Norwich .

Origin, service as royal judge and promotion to Bishop of Norwich

Simon was believed to have come from Walton d'Eiville in Warwickshire . Almost nothing is known about his family. Presumably he was the Master Simon of Walton who sued in 1235 or 1236 for property in nearby Tysoe . Walton was considered a seasoned canon law attorney who received a pension from Osney Abbey for his services . King Heinrich III. took advantage of his services, for which he gave him several presents. In 1242 King Walton appointed administrator of the vacant diocese of Lichfield . In 1245 Walton did extensive administrative work in preparation for the king's campaign in Wales . In January 1246, Walton served as a traveling judge in the Midlands and West England. Probably for this he received the royal estate of Feckenham in Worcestershire as a fief . Later he received deer from the king for the nearby hunting park of Stock Bradley near Feckenham. In 1253 he received the post of Rector of Stoke Prior in Herefordshire from the Cathedral Priory of Worcester . Chamberlain of the Cathedral Priory was a Robert of Walton , who was perhaps a brother of Simon. In 1254 the cathedral priory leased him the estate of Harvington in Worcestershire. Walton is mentioned for the first time in 1251 as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas . From 1254 to 1256 he was the chief judge in numerous court hearings in England. He then served as Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. In June 1257 he was finally elected bishop of the Diocese of Norwich . The election was confirmed by the king on June 10th, who handed over the diocesan temporalities to him on extremely favorable terms before August 11th .

Bishop of Norwich

When a noble opposition rebelled against the king from 1258, Walton remained loyal to the king, unlike numerous other bishops. In 1259 he served as the king's ambassador to France, investigating whether the armistice in Wales had been violated by Lord Llywelyn ap Gruffydd . In 1260 he belonged to a commission of bishops who tried to settle the family disputes between the king and Simon de Montfort , the leader of the aristocratic opposition, who was related to him by marriage . In 1261 he was commissioned, along with Archbishop Boniface of Canterbury and John Mansel , to see to it that the papal bulls were carried out by Henry III. had requested from Pope Alexander IV . In these cops, the rebellious barons were asked to obey the king, and at the same time they were released from the oath they had taken to observe the Provisions of Oxford . With the execution of this arrangement, Walton had made the rebels into avowed opponents. When armed clashes broke out from 1263, which finally led to the open Second War of the Barons against the King, Walton fled as part of the King of Norwich to the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds , whose sanctuary was particularly sacred to the rebels. The rebels mocked the fled bishop in blacksmiths and occupied his property. This he got back after he had sworn after the victory of the rebels in the Battle of Lewes in 1264 to comply with the Provisions of Oxford. In January 1265 he was called to De Montfort's Parliament . He saw how the king's followers defeated the rebels decisively at the Battle of Evesham in August 1265, but on September 29, 1265 the Pope instructed him to look for a coadjutor for himself because of his age . Walton died around the turn of the year and was buried in Norwich Cathedral.

Web links

Alan Harding: Walton, Simon of (d. 1265/6). 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

Individual evidence

↑ Diana E. Greenway: NORWICH: Bishops (originally of Elmham and Thetford). Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 2, Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces). Institute of Historical Research, London 1971. 55-58 (British History Online). Retrieved December 26, 2016 .

predecessor	Office	successor
Walter of Suffield	Bishop of Norwich 1257–1266	Roger Skerning

personal data
SURNAME	Simon of Walton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Simon de Wauton
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Bishop of Norwich
DATE OF BIRTH	12th century or 13th century
DATE OF DEATH	on January 1, 1266

[1] Diana E. Greenway: NORWICH: Bishops (originally of Elmham and Thetford). Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 2, Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces). Institute of Historical Research, London 1971. 55-58 (British History Online). Retrieved December 26, 2016 .