Geoffrey (archbishop of York)

Geoffrey

Geoffrey was probably born in about 1152,^[4] before his father Henry, later Henry II of England, married Eleanor of Aquitaine,^[5][b] and was likely named after his paternal grandfather, Geoffrey of Anjou.^[10] Although he is often given the surname "Plantagenet" in modern histories, that name was not in use during his lifetime.^[11] The date of his birth is determined by statements of Gerald of Wales that he was barely 20 when elected bishop in 1173, and by the fact that he was about 40 when consecrated archbishop in 1191. His mother's identity is unclear. The medieval chronicler Walter Map claimed she was a whore named Ykenai, and that he was not actually Henry's son.^[c] This is the only contemporary source that gives her name, and as Map was hostile to Geoffrey, the information must be judged carefully.^[10] Instead, Ykenai may have been a daughter of a knight.^[11][d] Another possibility for Geoffrey's mother is Rosamund Clifford, but most of the evidence for this is circumstantial.^[e] It is assumed that Geoffrey was the eldest of Henry's children, legitimate or illegitimate.^[11][f]

Geoffrey was brought up with Henry's legitimate children. There is no evidence that Henry tried to deny Geoffrey's paternity,^[10] although Walter Map said that Henry's acknowledgment was done "improperly and with little discretion".^[13] Geoffrey had a brother named Peter,^[10] who appears to have been his maternal half-brother,^[14] as Peter is generally considered unlikely to have been Henry's son.^[15][g]

Geoffrey was Archdeacon of Lincoln in the diocese of Lincoln by September 1171, and probably retained that office until he was confirmed as bishop-elect in 1175.^[18] He also held a prebend,^[10] an income from land owned by a cathedral chapter,^[19] in the diocese of London, but there is little evidence that he executed the duties of either office. There are some indications that he studied canon law at a school in Northampton, and that he taught in Paris during the early 1170s. He also acted as a papal judge-delegate at that time.^[10] Pope Alexander III initially refused to confirm Geoffrey's selection as Bishop of Lincoln in about May 1173, prompting Geoffrey to travel to Rome in October 1174 to secure confirmation of this office. He was confirmed in the office of bishop by July 1175, but he was not ordained at that time,^[20] as he was under the canonical age for holding a bishopric.^[21] Geoffrey's youth was one of Alexander's objections to Geoffrey's election, and the pope only confirmed the office under duress.^[10] Another potential problem was Geoffrey's illegitimacy, which normally disbarred a person from holding ecclesiastical office, but that was dealt with by the granting of a papal dispensation.^[22]

In 1173 and early 1174 Geoffrey fought a military campaign in northern England in support of his father's attempts to subdue the Scots, who were supporting the

Richard named Geoffrey Archbishop of York on 20 July 1189,[34] within days of taking the throne; the formal election took place on 10 August.^[10] What happened with the vacant archbishopric of York after Richard took the throne, and why, as well as the exact chronology of events, is complicated by the contradictory nature of the main contemporary accounts. Gerald of Wales states that Geoffrey was reluctant to accept York, but another chronicler, Benedict of Peterborough relates that Geoffrey quickly took control of the archiepiscopal estates.^[10] However the election occurred, Geoffrey's consecration did not take place until much later,^[35] and soon after his election, he either resigned or was stripped of his office of Chancellor.^[27] A further complication was that the cathedral chapter had earlier elected the Dean of York, Hubert Walter, as archbishop.^[34]

Richard probably gave York to Geoffrey in the hope of forcing him to become a full priest, and thus eliminate a potential rival for the throne.^[36][37] Richard also required Geoffrey to swear that he would remain outside England for three years during the time Richard expected to be out of the country on crusade. The king subsequently released Geoffrey from the oath, the initial swearing of which was apparently another of Richard's efforts to keep Geoffrey's possible ambitions towards the English throne in check.^[38] But the cathedral chapter at York disputed Geoffrey's appointment, claiming that because the Dean of York, Hubert Walter, and some others of the chapter had not been present, the election was invalid.^[10] Walter's election to York was supported by Richard's mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, whom a chronicler claimed hated Geoffrey as the product of one of her husband's affairs.^[34] Richard consequently retained his control over the estates of the archbishopric, and did not confirm the election until a council held at Pipewell on 16 September.^[10] At that council Richard also appointed three men to offices within the diocese of York: he made Henry Marshal the dean; Burchard du Puiset, a relative of Hugh du Puiset,^[i] became treasurer; and Roger of London the abbot of Selby Abbey. Geoffrey objected to these appointments, and as a result his estates were confiscated by the king until he submitted and became a priest.^[10] The historians Ralph Turner and Richard Heiser speculate that Richard's strategy in making these appointments was to keep Geoffrey distracted by problems within his diocese, and thus unable to challenge for the English throne. The two historians also suggest that Richard may have been making an example of Geoffrey, in a demonstration that he could be harsh even with his own relatives.^[38]

Geoffrey's ordination as a priest took place at

In early 1190 Geoffrey ordered a halt to religious ceremonies in the cathedral and excommunicated Henry Marshal and Burchard in retaliation for a dispute during an earlier church service. Richard, who was in Normandy preparing to go on the Third Crusade, ordered Geoffrey to the king's presence in Normandy. Although Hugh du Puiset, who was Justiciar, was hampering Geoffrey's attempts to collect revenue for the earlier fine, Richard insisted on immediate full payment. When Geoffrey was unable to pay Richard re-confiscated his lands, increased the amount of the fine, and demanded a promise that Geoffrey would not visit England for three years. The dispute was settled once more when the pope stepped in and ratified Geoffrey's election, thus enabling a reconciliation between the king and the archbishop at Tours in June. Geoffrey's estates were returned to him in July, after paying 800 marks of his fine.^[10]

Consecration and more difficulties

Geoffrey was consecrated on 18 August 1191,

Geoffrey caused offence by his attempts to have his episcopal cross carried before him in the diocese of Canterbury, thus implying that his diocese was superior or at least equal to Canterbury in rank.[10] In pursuit of this rivalry between York and Canterbury, Geoffrey was the first archbishop of York to style himself "Primate of England", in opposition to the Canterbury title of "Primate of all England".^[48][k] He also attempted to subordinate Clementhorpe Priory to Godstow Abbey, which provoked an appeal from Prioress Alice of Clementhorpe to the papacy.^[10] Probably owing to Pope Celestine III's dislike of Geoffrey, Hubert Walter was given a papal legateship that included Geoffrey's province, something that had not been usual in the preceding years, and which presented Geoffrey with some difficulties in his dealings with the ecclesiastical hierarchy.^[52] But Geoffrey was on friendly terms with Prince John; the historian G. V. Scammell has suggested that Geoffrey's consecration allowed John to feel that Geoffrey was no longer a rival for the throne, thus paving the way for good relations between the two half-brothers.^[53]

Geoffrey long faced opposition from some members of his cathedral chapter led by Henry Marshal, Burchard du Puiset, and Roger of London. They objected to his having given a large part of York's treasury toward Richard's ransom,

In January 1195 Geoffrey was ordered to appear in Rome to answer various charges, under the threat of suspension from office if he did not appear by 1 June. Further quarrels with his cathedral clergy followed, including an instance of the cathedral chapter throwing chrism on a dungheap in protest. Geoffrey protested to the king after Richard forbade Geoffrey's projected journey to Rome and in retaliation the king confiscated Geoffrey's estates once more. This left Geoffrey vulnerable when Walter held a legatine council at York in June 1195. Geoffrey had managed to secure a postponement of his case at Rome until 1 November, but was still unable to attend, which led Pope Celestine to order that Geoffrey's suspension should be performed by Hugh of Lincoln. Hugh protested, and as a result Celestine himself suspended Geoffrey on 23 December 1195, finally forcing Geoffrey to answer the charges against him. He travelled to Rome in 1196, where his accusers were unable to substantiate their claims and he was restored to office by the pope.^[10]

Geoffrey quarrelled with Richard in 1196 in Normandy while the archbishop was attempting to return to England.^[10] Richard forbade him from administering York,^[55] and Geoffrey returned to Rome until 1198. An attempt at reconciliation with Richard came to nothing, after Geoffrey refused to approve the king's appointments in the diocese of York without some guarantees that they would be approved by the papacy. Ultimately Pope Innocent III on 28 April 1199 ordered that Geoffrey was to be restored to his lands as soon as he had paid his debts to the king. Innocent further ordered that any royal appointments in York would require papal approval.^[10]

Under John

After John succeeded Richard in 1199, he decided to restore Geoffrey to the archiepiscopal estates, but continued to receive the income until the archbishop returned from Rome.^[56] Some of Geoffrey's opponents who were officials in his diocese resigned their offices, and for a short time peace reigned in York. But the perceived arrogance of Geoffrey's officials offended the cathedral chapter at York, and this further conflict was not resolved until March 1200. For most of the remainder of 1199 Geoffrey was frequently with the king, and the two appear to have been on good terms, a state of affairs that continued throughout the first half of 1200.^[10]

In October 1200 Geoffrey refused to allow the collection of

Geoffrey submitted to John in 1206, and his lands were returned to him.[10] But in 1207 Geoffrey led the clergy of England in their refusal to pay royal taxation and was forced into exile.^[58] Geoffrey excommunicated anyone who attempted to collect the tax in his archdiocese, but the king confiscated Geoffrey's estates in retaliation.^[59] Geoffrey once again secured the support of Pope Innocent, who ordered John to restore Geoffrey's possessions, but in the meantime the archbishop had fled to France. A medieval chronicler, Geoffrey of Coldingham, stated that the English church considered Geoffrey a martyr because of this stand against King John.^[10]

Death and legacy

Geoffrey died while still in exile at Grandmont in

Although his archiepiscopate was mainly marked by the conflicts in which he engaged, Geoffrey also managed to institute some administrative reforms in his diocese, creating the office of chancellor. He also inspired loyalty from some of his household members, many of whom witnessed his charters, and although he made enemies of several of the suffragan bishops, clergy and religious houses in his diocese, he also secured the friendship and support of other clergy, including Pope Innocent III and Hugh of Lincoln. Although Walter Map declared that Geoffrey was "full of faults and devoid of character",[13] he remained loyal to his father until Henry's death. A modern-day historian, Thomas Jones, summed up Geoffrey's character with the phrase "quarrelsome and undiplomatic".^[61] Another historian, J. C. Holt, stated that Geoffrey was through his career "a perpetual source of danger, quarrelling now with de Puiset, now with the Yorkshire sheriffs, ever ready to attack the judicial and fiscal superiority of the Crown."^[62]

Geoffrey's ambitions may have included becoming King of England, which may account for some of the harshness that his two legitimate half-brothers displayed towards him. His military abilities, displayed in the rebellion of 1173–1174, as well his custody of castles near Tours, would have also fed into Richard's disquiet over Geoffrey's possible intentions.^[63] Geoffrey was known to be ambitious, which led the historian D. L. Douie to call him a "formidable bastard".^[64] The historian Ralph Turner said of Geoffrey that "he sought power and wealth despite the handicap of his birth" and that he had "inherited the bad temper of the other Plantagenets".^[65]

Geoffrey was a patron of scholarship, and employed scholars throughout his life,