Walter of Bronescombe

Funerary monument of Walter of Bronescombe in Exeter Cathedral

Walter of Bronescombe (also Walter de Exonia or Walter Branscombe ) (* around 1220 in Exeter , † July 22, 1280 in Bishopsteignton ) was an English clergyman. From 1258 he was Bishop of Exeter . He was a staunch supporter of the Kings Henry III. and Edward I , whom he served as advisor and negotiator.

Rise to Bishop of Exeter

Walter of Bronescombe was born in Exeter, but nothing is known of his family and youth. Most likely he studied at Oxford and received a first benefit in 1243 . After that he was part of the household of Bishop William Raleigh of Winchester. Before 1245 he became the Archdeacon of Surrey . He was also rector of Farnham and East Clandon in Surrey. In addition, he received other benefices at the same time, which is why he needed a dispensation several times . Walter also served the king several times. In 1250 he was the envoy of Heinrich III. at the Papal Curia , where he received confirmation for the controversial election of Aymer de Lusignan as Bishop of Winchester. The following year the king appointed him his lawyer at the Curia. Before 1250 he was appointed papal chaplain . In 1254 he became a canon at Exeter Cathedral and a little later Chancellor of the Diocese of Exeter . Apparently undisputed, he was elected the new bishop on February 23, 1258. On March 3rd the king confirmed the election and on March 6th gave him the temporalities . Together with the new Bishops Simon Walton of Norwich and Roger of Coventry , Walter was ordained a priest on March 9th and a bishop on March 10th by Archbishop Boniface of Canterbury . On April 14th he was enthroned in Exeter Cathedral .

Bishop of Exeter

In the service of the English kings

Like most English bishops of the 13th century, Walter did not hold a high secular office as bishop. Nevertheless, he continued to serve the king several times as negotiator and advisor, especially during the dispute with the aristocratic opposition under Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester , which finally led to the open Second War of the barons against the king. This made Walter one of the few English bishops who supported the king in this dispute, while the majority of the bishops were on the side of the aristocratic opposition. Shortly after his election as bishop, Walter was in Paris on behalf of the king in July 1258, where he conducted peace negotiations with France. Also in early 1263 he was one of the English king's lawyers at the French royal court. He then tried to mediate between the king and the barons until 1265. After the victory of the king's supporters in the War of the Barons in August 1265, Bronescombe was a member of the original six-member committee that worked out the Dictum of Kenilworth until October 1266 .

In the controversial appointment of Robert Kilwardby as Archbishop of Canterbury, Walter played a significant role. On December 11, 1272 he made Kilwardby the new Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Canterbury . The next day he was the only bishop demonstrably in London when a royal declaration was issued against the Pope's appointment of Kilwardby. In May 1273 he and Bishop Nicholas of Winchester Kilwardby handed over the pallium . Immediately afterwards he traveled to Burgundy , where he met the new King Edward I , who was returning from the crusade . In the autumn he met the king again in Gascony , where he baptized his son Alfonso, who was born in Bayonne , on November 24th. In addition, he probably continued to support the king, but details about his stay in France are hardly known. From May to July 1274 he took part in the Council of Lyon before returning to England for Edward's coronation on August 19, 1274.

Activity as bishop

The register of documents and files from Walter's tenure is the oldest still existing and possibly the first ever created register of documents of a Bishop of Exeter. According to this register and the documents, Walter acted diligently and conscientiously as bishop. He carried out numerous church visits in his large diocese . He often rededicated the patronage of the churches. In Crediton he renewed the collegiate foundation of the Church of the Holy Cross and equipped it with further possessions. He founded another Collegiate Church in Glasney near Penryn , which he consecrated on March 27, 1267. For the church, he issued rules, just as in 1268 and 1275 for Exeter Cathedral. In the final years of his tenure, the cathedral began to expand, including the construction of the Lady Chapel . He acquired the estate of Bishop's Clyst , which he expanded into his residence and added St Gabriel's Chapel. In his final years he became embroiled in a bitter conflict with Edmund, 2nd Earl of Cornwall , whom he accused of numerous attacks on church property. After his death, he was buried in a magnificent tomb in Exeter Cathedral.

literature

• Olivia F. Robinson: The register of Walter Bronescombe, bishop of Exeter, 1258-1280 . Canterbury and York Society, Woodbridge 1995. ISBN 0-907239-51-X

Web links

• JH Denton: Bronescombe, Walter of (c.1220-1280). 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
Richard Blund	Bishop of Exeter 1258-1280	Peter Quinel