William Raleigh

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William Raleigh (also William of Raleigh , Ralegh or Raley ) († September 1, 1250 in Tours ) was an English clergyman. He rose to the highest English judge until 1234. In 1239 he became Bishop of Norwich before becoming Bishop of Winchester in 1243 . He is considered one of the leading lawyers in 13th century England.

Origin and advancement to judge

William Raleigh came from a distinguished gentry family with several branches in Devon . This leads to the occasional confusion, including with another William of Raleigh who served as Sheriff of Devon between 1225 and 1228 . Raleigh entered the service of King John Ohneland as a clergyman , who in 1212 granted him the income of the Church of Bratton Fleming in Devon. He had a probably younger brother named Robert, who later served him in court, but died in 1236. By 1214 at the latest, Raleigh was an official on the Court of King's Bench . After the end of the First War of the Barons , he is mentioned again often as an official of the Court of King's Bench between 1219 and 1229. From 1225 at the latest he was in the personal service of the judge Martin of Pateshull , whom he accompanied on several judicial trips, including from 1226 to 1227 to northern England. On this occasion he also served as a tax estimator. In May 1229, Raleigh was promoted to succeed Pateshull as judge at the King's Bench. After Stephen of Seagrave he served before Robert of Lexinton as the highest ranking judge, although Lexinton had already served as a judge significantly. His personal official before December 1231 was Roger of Thirkleby , who later also rose to be a judge.

Chief Justice of England

From 1229, Raleigh led court cases in Middlesex and other counties as chief judge . At Michaelis 1233 he replaced Thomas of Muleton as chief judge of the Court of King's Bench. When the royal justiciar Stephen of Segrave was overthrown in May 1234 , King Henry III occupied. this office not again. Instead, he divided the majority of the duties of the Justiciar to other offices. The office of chief judge at the court took over Raleigh, who thus became chief judge of England . In the Court of Justice, Raleigh remained the only professional judge assisted in negotiations by Stewards of the Household and other members of the royal council as judges. Before 1238, Henry de Bracton became his new personal official, arguably after Thirkleby married in 1235 or 1236. Raleigh was probably the author, but at least the commissioner of the treatise De legibus et consuetudinibus Angliae , which is also attributed to Henry Bracton. Also known as Bracton's Notebook , the treatise lists a number of legal innovations introduced during Raleigh's tenure as chief judge, such as the 1237 definition of consanguinity . The king rewarded Raleigh's services with various ecclesiastical offices and benefices . As early as 1220 he had received the income from the Church of Blatherwycke in Northamptonshire . In 1231 he received the Church of Whaplode in Lincolnshire , and before 1234 he became Treasurer of Exeter Cathedral .

Raleigh now served not only as a judge, but also as a confidante and advisor to Henry III. Apparently, especially between 1236 and 1239, he was the king's most important advisor. During this time the king tried to improve the royal administration with the Statute of Merton of 1236 and further reforms of the judiciary and the financial system. Raleigh was apparently responsible for several of these reforms, including the thirteenth tax levied in 1237 on the thirteenth of movable property. However , Raleigh's influence was weakened by the revolt of Richard of Cornwall against his brother in January 1238. From August 1238, his influence on the king continued to decline. The king wanted William of Savoy to be the new bishop of the Winchester diocese . The monks of the cathedral priory of Winchester, however, wanted to elect Raleigh as the new bishop to the annoyance of the king. In February 1239, Raleigh was elected Bishop of the Diocese of Coventry and Lichfield , but he did not accept that election. Only the election as bishop of the diocese of Norwich in April 1239 he accepted. With this he ended his activity as a judge and withdrew from the royal court at Pentecost 1239. He also resigned his previous spiritual offices and benefices.

Bishop of Norwich and re-elected Bishop of Winchester

As the Bishop of Norwich, Raleigh punished Jewish residents who were accused of starting the ritual murder of a Christian boy. In 1241 the monks of the cathedral priory of the still vacant diocese of Winchester wanted him again as bishop, as they rejected the new royal candidate Boniface of Savoy . The King then urged Raleigh not to run for office. But this time Raleigh wanted to accept the election, whereupon the king turned to the Pope. In September 1243, however, Pope Innocent IV confirmed in a bull the election of Raleigh as Bishop of Winchester, whereupon Raleigh with Henry III. fell out of favor. He imposed the interdict on Winchester and fled to France, where King Louis IX him. , who only a few months earlier with Heinrich III. Waged war had resumed friendly. It was not until 1244 that Heinrich III. at the instigation of Boniface, who had meanwhile become Archbishop of Canterbury, and allowed Raleigh to take up his office as Bishop of Winchester. Due to the high costs of the legal dispute and the multi-year administration by royal representatives, the actually rich diocese of Winchester had meanwhile been financially ruined.

Bishop of Winchester

As Bishop of Winchester, Raleigh remained politically active. In 1244 he belonged to a joint, twelve-member committee of bishops and magnates , which deliberated on the request of the king for a grant of money through parliament . Ultimately, the committee demanded concessions from the king in return for a grant of money, which in turn Henry III. did not want to meet. In 1245 Raleigh took part in the Council of Lyons . In 1247 Heinrich III. Christmas in Winchester and reconciled with Raleigh on that occasion.

In 1249 Raleigh traveled again to France, where he died the following year.

literature

  • CAF Meekings: Martin Pateshull and William Raleigh. In: Historical Research , 26 (1953), pp. 157-180
  • D. Carpenter: Ralegh, William . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 8, LexMA-Verlag, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-89659-908-9 , Sp. 424.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Cox, Eugene L .: The Eagles of Savoy. The House of Savoy in Thirteenth-Century Europe . Ed .: Eugene L. Cox. Princeton 1974, p. 137 .
predecessor Office successor
Simon of Elmham Bishop of Norwich
1239–1243
Walter of Suffield
Peter des Roches Bishop of Winchester
1243-1250
Aymer de Lusignan