William of Kilkenny
William of Kilkenny († September 21, 1256 ) was an English clergyman. From 1250 to 1255 he served as Keeper of the Great Seal . From 1254 he was Bishop of Ely .
Origin and family
The origin of William of Kilkenny is unknown. He was believed to have come from an English family in Ireland . His brother was named Robert and owned property in Waterford , Munster . Robert's son Richard was knighted by King Alfonso X of Castile in 1254 together with the English heir to the throne, Lord Eduard . Possibly William was identical to the Master William of Kilkenny , who, as Chancellor of the Church of Kilkenny, was elected Bishop of the Irish Diocese of Ossory in 1231 . But he gave up the office before his consecration in 1232. Whether William was related to a Master Odo of Kilkenny , an attorney for the king, or to Master Henry of Kilkenny , a canon in Chichester , cannot be established with certainty.
Rise as an official of the king
In mid-1234, William of Kilkenny is mentioned as a royal official who received 60 marks a year for his services until at least 1237 . Kilkenny had extensive knowledge of canon law and Roman law and served King Henry III. in a variety of cases. From 1234 to 1235 and again in 1237 he traveled as the king's envoy to the papal curia . He served as the king's representative in several controversial episcopal elections, especially in the election of Simon of Elmham as Bishop of Norwich in 1236, which remained controversial until Simon's retreat in 1239. He also represented the king in negotiations with Bishop Robert Grosseteste of Lincoln, which were necessary because of a dispute between the citizens of Oxford and the university in 1236. The King thanked his services by handing over the rights of the Churches of Powerstock in Dorset in 1235 and Worfield in Shropshire in 1236.
Keeper of the Great Seal
Kilkenny had already had good contacts with Bishop Richard Poore of Durham, and after 1238 he entered the service of Nicholas of Farnham , who became Bishop of Durham in 1241. In May 1247 he went abroad in the service of the king. In November 1247 he was made Archdeacon of Coventry . However, it was not until the autumn of 1249 that Kilkenny was obviously in the king's service again. From September 30, 1249 to at least October 27, 1252 he was responsible for the Royal Wardrobe . To this end, he served from May 28, 1250 as Keeper of the Great Seal and thus took over the duties of royal chancellor , although he never officially held this office. When the king was in Gascony from 1253 to 1254 , Kilkenny took on a leading role in the government of England along with the king's younger brother, Richard of Cornwall . Thanks for Kilkenny received a sinecure at the Chichester Cathedral and the rights and revenues of the Church of Dungervan in the Irish diocese of Lismore . In 1252 he received the Church of Walton in Lancashire and before the end of 1253 the offices of Rector of St Peter's in Northampton and Treasurer of the Cathedral Chapter of Exeter . He had received a further benefice in Dublin , in addition he administered the royal hospitals of Ospringe in Kent and in Oxford. After Pope Innocent IV had canceled the award of a further benefice at London's St Paul's Cathedral in 1253 , he was able to receive another benefice at the cathedral before September 1254.
Bishop of Ely
Ultimately, Kilkenny was elected bishop of the Diocese of Ely in late September or October 1254 . On December 25, 1254, the temporalities of the diocese were given to him , and on January 5, 1255 he resigned as Keeper of the Great Seal. Since Archbishop Boniface of Canterbury had traveled to his native Savoy , Kilkenny also traveled there, where he was ordained bishop on August 15, 1255 in Belley by Boniface. As bishop Kilkenny was able to resolve a protracted dispute with Ramsey Abbey over the boundaries of their lands in the Fens . In July 1256 he traveled with John de Gatesden as the king's envoy to King Alfonso X of Castile. Henry III. had promised his Castilian brother-in-law to help him on a crusade to Africa, and Kilkenny was to inform King Alfonso that Henry III. had asked the Pope whether his crusade vows would be fulfilled if he went on a crusade to Africa. However, Kilkenny died while traveling in Spain. His heart was taken to Ely for burial . In the Cathedral of Ely , a grave monument commemorates him. The chronicler Matthew Paris praised him as a humble and loyal official.
Web links
- Robert C. Stacey: Kilkenny, William of (d. 1256). 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
- ↑ Janet E. Burton, Phillipp R. Schofield, Björn KU Weiler: Thirteenth Century England XIV: proceedings of the Aberystwyth and Lampeter Conference, 2011 . Boydell, Woodbridge 2013. ISBN 978-1-84383-809-8 , p. 112
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| John of Lexinton |
Keeper of the Great Seal 1250-1255 |
Henry of Wingham |
| Hugh of Northwold |
Bishop of Ely 1255–1256 |
Hugh of Balsham |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | William of Kilkenny |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Lord Keeper of the Great Seal and Bishop of Ely |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 12th century or 13th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 21, 1256 |