Thomas Charlton (Bishop)

Thomas Charlton (also Thomas Cherleton ) (* around 1292; † January 11, 1344 ) was a bishop of the English diocese of Hereford , court official and Lord Chancellor of Ireland .

origin

Thomas Charlton was a younger son of Robert Charlton, a member of the gentry from Charlton near Wellington in Shropshire . His brothers included John Charlton , who rose to Baron Cherleton , and Sir Alan Charlton of Apley . Both Thomas and John held high offices under King Edward II , making the family an important noble family.

Studies and career as a courtier and clergyman

Thomas Charlton was first mentioned in September 1307 when he was a royal chaplain a Kanonikerstelle in Bridgnorth receives. He probably owed this benefice to his brother John, who had already made a career at the royal court around this time. 1309 he received another benefice in Shrewsbury , then he studied at Oxford . He completed his studies as a master in 1311 , and in 1317 he became a doctor of theology . Presumably through the influence of his brother, who was King's Chamberlain , he rose quickly at court from 1316 onwards. On February 6, 1316, Thomas Charlton served at the hearing of petitions from Gascony , and as early as July 7, 1316 he was Keeper of the Privy Seal , in addition to that he was the overseer of the royal cloakroom. He held this office until July 7, 1318, that of Lord Seal Keeper until January 1320.

During the politically troubled reign of Edward II, Charlton proved to be a capable administrator without attaining any political significance of his own. At the same time he made a career as a clergyman. The king rewarded him in August 1316 with a canon position in York and in April 1317 with a position in Hereford . Despite the support of the king, however, his candidacy as Bishop of Durham failed in October 1316 , instead Louis de Beaumont , the queen's candidate, became the new bishop. A little later, in the spring of 1317, his candidacy as Bishop of Hereford also failed . Although the king wrote several letters to Pope John XXII. in which he recommended Charlton because of his family connections as a candidate for the bishopric of Hereford in the Welsh Marches , Adam Orleton was appointed by the Pope as the new bishop in his place .

Loss of importance among the Despensers and renewed rise under Roger Mortimer

In 1318 Charlton's brother John lost his office as King's Chamberlain in 1318 to the new royal favorite Hugh le Despenser . His brother's dwindling influence resulted in Charlton losing his position as overseer of the royal cloakroom in 1318 and his position as Lord Seal Keeper in 1320. Charlton's successor as Lord Seal Keeper was Robert Baldock , a close confidante of the Despensers. Although Charlton did not lose the king's confidence, he received no new grand office during his reign , but could only acquire other benefices such as the archdeaconate of Northumberland . It was not until his former rival Adam Orleton became the new Bishop of Worcester that Charlton was elected by Pope John XXII on September 25, 1327. Appointed the new Bishop of Hereford. This was certainly due to the fact that Charlton had spent a long time at the papal court in Avignon that year , perhaps the Pope also wanted to compensate him for the failed candidacy of 1317. On October 18, 1327 Charlton was ordained bishop by Cardinal Pierre des Prés , then he returned to England, where he received the temporalities on December 21 . The new rulers in England, Queen Isabelle and her favorite Roger Mortimer , certainly welcomed Charlton's appointment as bishop, because his brother John Charlton had been an important supporter of the Queen during the fall of Edward II, and his nephew of the same name, John Charlton, had a daughter married by Mortimer. On July 2, 1328, Charlton became the new Treasurer of the Exchequer , which he remained until September 16, 1329.

Serving as Bishop of Hereford

Charlton proved to be a conscientious bishop who, with the exception of the period in which he held important state offices, lived mostly in his diocese and not at the royal court. In the 1330s he made numerous tours through his diocese, most of which he got to know personally. He issued numerous orders and was able to win numerous new clergy for his diocese during his tenure. He promoted the training of his clergy, for example by taking numerous clergymen on leave for their studies. In doing so, however, he was again more of a capable administrator than a convincing clergyman. There is no evidence that he supervised the observance of the spiritual rules and made visits to monasteries and priories. His relationship to the cathedral chapter is also unclear. As the bishop of a diocese in the Welsh Marches, Charlton also had the task of ensuring peace and order, for example in 1335 the king instructed him to do everything in his power to pacify the Welsh people. In this task he was assisted by his brother, who was lord of the important reign of Powy .

Chancellor of Ireland

Possibly because of these positive experiences, the King appointed Charlton Lord Chancellor of Ireland on July 28, 1337 , while his brother John was appointed Justiciar and thus the King's Deputy in Ireland . During his absence, Charlton appointed five vicars general to represent him in Hereford, then traveled to Ireland. There the two brothers soon fell out, among other things over the use of the available funds. John left Ireland again in June 1338, so that Thomas took over the management of the island alone. He and his brother were originally supposed to specifically reform the administration of Ireland, oversee the activities of officials in Dublin and increase the income from taxes and duties. To do this, he had to stabilize English rule against the Irish and Anglo-Irish nobles. Although Charlton went about his business vigorously, faced with difficulties in Ireland and the lack of support from the king, who was bound by the war with France, he was unable to resolve the problems. Although he left Ireland only after almost three years on April 7, 1340, he had achieved relatively little as Chancellor. Nonetheless, he is considered to be one of the more capable English governors who administered the island in the first half of the 14th century.

After his return he lived in his diocese until his death. He was buried in the north transept of Hereford Cathedral, where a funerary memorial commemorates him.

Web links

• DN Lepine: Charlton, Thomas (c.1292-1344). 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
Roger Northburgh	Lord Privy Seal 1316-1320	Robert Baldock
Adam Orleton	Bishop of Hereford 1327-1344	John Trilleck
Henry Burghersh	Lord High Treasurer 1328-1329	Robert Wodehouse