Hubert Walter

Hubert Walter (c. 1160 – 13 July 1205) was an influential royal adviser in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries in the positions of Chief Justiciar of England, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Lord Chancellor. As chancellor, Walter began the keeping of the Charter Roll, a record of all charters issued by the chancery. Walter was not noted for his holiness in life or learning, but historians have judged him one of the most outstanding government ministers in English history.

Walter owed his early advancement to his uncle Ranulf de Glanvill, who helped him become a clerk of the Exchequer. Walter served King Henry II of England in many ways, not just in financial administration, but also including diplomatic and judicial efforts. After an unsuccessful candidacy to the see of York, Walter was elected Bishop of Salisbury shortly after the accession of Henry's son Richard I.

Walter accompanied Richard on the

Early life

Hubert Walter was the son of Hervey Walter

Walter's family was from West Dereham in Norfolk, which is probably where Walter was born.^[7] Walter first appears in Glanvill's household in a charter that has been dated to 1178, although as it is undated it may have been written as late as 1180.^[8] His brother Theobald also served in their uncle's household.^[3] Walter's gratitude towards his aunt and uncle is shown in the foundation charter of Walter's monastery in Dereham, where he asks the foundation to pray for the "souls of Ranulf Glanvill and Bertha his wife, who nourished us".^[9] Earlier historians asserted that Walter studied law at Bologna, based on his name appearing in a list of those to be commemorated at a monastery in Bologna in which English students lodged. Modern historians have discounted this, as the list also includes benefactors, not just students; other evidence points to the fact that Walter had a poor grasp of Latin, and did not consider himself to be a learned man.^[10] However, this did not mean that he was illiterate, merely that he was not "book-learned", or educated at a university.^[11] His contemporary, the medieval writer Gerald of Wales said of Walter that the Exchequer was his school.^[12]

Early assignments

By 1184–1185 Walter had a position as a baron of the exchequer. The king employed him on several tasks, including as a negotiator, a justice, and as a royal secretary.^[4] He was appointed Dean of York by order of King Henry II about July 1186.^[1] The archbishopric had been vacant since 1181 and would remain so until 1189, so it was Walter's job as dean to administer the archbishopric of York.^[13] Walter was also an unsuccessful candidate to become Archbishop of York in September 1186.^[1][b] The medieval chronicler Gervase of Canterbury said that during Henry II's reign, Walter "ruled England because Glanvill sought his counsel".^[14] Documents also show that Walter was active in the administration of the diocese of York.^[15]

At the same time he was administering York, Walter founded a

In 1187 Walter, along with Glanvill and King Henry II, attempted to mediate a dispute between the Archbishop of Canterbury, Baldwin of Forde, and the monks of the cathedral chapter. Their efforts were fruitless, and Walter was later drawn back into the dispute, in early 1189 and again as archbishop. The dispute centred on the attempt by Baldwin to build a church dedicated to Saint Thomas Becket, just outside the town of Canterbury. The plan was to staff the church with canons instead of monks, which the monks of Canterbury's cathedral chapter feared was an attempt to take away the cathedral chapter's right to elect the archbishop.^[18] The attempt in 1189 was settled by Baldwin giving up the site near Canterbury for one further away at Lambeth, which was less threatening to the monks.^[19]

Bishop and archbishop

After the death of King Henry in 1189, the new King Richard I appointed Walter Bishop of Salisbury; the election took place on 15 September 1189 at

Walter's chief administrative measures were his instructions to the itinerant justices of 1194 and 1198, his ordinance of 1195, an attempt to increase order in the kingdom, and his plan of 1198 for the assessment of a land tax. In 1194 the justices were ordered by a document now known as the Articles of Eyre to secure the election of four coroners by each county court. The coroners were to keep, or register, royal pleas, which had previously been a duty of the sheriff. The juries were to be chosen by a committee of four knights, also elected by the county court.^[46] This introduction of coroners and constables eventually led to a change in the role of sheriffs, and a lessening of their importance in royal administration.^[47] Although he probably did not take part in the decision to set up a special exchequer for the collection of Richard's ransom, Walter did appoint the two escheators,^[48] or guardians of the amounts due,^[49] who were Hugh Bardulf in the north of England and William of Sainte-Mère-Eglise in the south.^[48] His instructions for the eyre,^[50] or circuits of traveling justices,^[51] are the first that survive in English history.^[50] It was during his tenure of the justiciarship that the judicial role of the Exchequer became separated from the purely financial aspects.^[52]

He also worked to introduce order into the lending of money by

Walter also helped with the creation of a more professional group of royal justices. Although the group, which included Simon of Pattishall, Ralph Foliot, Richard Barre, William de Warenne, Richard Herriard, and Walter's brother Osbert fitzHervey, had mostly already served as justices prior to Walter's term of office, it was Walter who used them extensively. It appears likely that Walter chose them for their ability, not for any familial ties to himself. This group of men replaced the previous system of using mostly local men, and are the first signs of a professional judiciary.^[58]

In 1195 Walter issued an ordinance by which four knights were appointed in every hundred to act as guardians of the peace, a precursor to the office of Justice of the Peace. His use of the

Walter revived the scheme of his predecessor, Baldwin of Forde, to found a church in Canterbury that would be secular and not monastic. He promised that the new foundation's canons would not be allowed to vote in archiepiscopal elections nor would the body of Saint Thomas Becket ever be moved to the new church, but the monks of his cathedral chapter were suspicious and appealed to the papacy. The dispute from the time of Baldwin of Forde flared up again, with the papacy supporting the monks and the king supporting the archbishop. Finally, Pope Innocent III ruled for the monks and ordered Walter to destroy what had been built.^[67]

The archbishop held ecclesiastical councils, including one at

In the later part of Richard's reign, the pressures mounted on Walter. Conflicts between his ecclesiastical duties and his government duties made him the target of criticism from both sides.[4]^[73] A dispute in December 1197, over Richard's demand that the magnates of England provide 300 knights to serve in France, led to renewed grumbling among the clergy and barons.^[73] Richard was also dissatisfied with the results of the carucage in 1198,^[4] so Walter resigned his position of chief justiciar on 11 July of that year.^[36] Walter may have resigned willingly, as he had talked of resigning his secular duties since 1194.^[73] Some medieval sources, however, stated that he was forced out of office by the king.^[74]

Under John

According to the Life of William Marshal, which dates to soon after 1219, when word reached William Marshal, one of the richest and most influential barons, that Richard was dead, he consulted with Walter and discussed whom to support as the next king. Marshal's choice was John, but Walter initially leaned towards John's young nephew Arthur of Brittany. When Marshall was insistent on John, who was an adult, the author of the Life has Walter say in reply " 'So be it then,' said the archbishop, 'but mark my words, Marshal, you will never regret anything in your life as much as this.'"^[75] This is almost certainly a retrospective comment that has been inserted into the biography, however, based on John's later behaviour.^[4] Once John knew he had the support of Walter and William Marshal, he sent Walter ahead to England to request all free men to pledge fealty to the new king.^[76] On 27 May 1199 Walter crowned John, supposedly making a speech that promulgated, for the last time, the theory of a king's election by the people. This story is only contained in the writings of Matthew Paris, however, and although it seems certain that Walter made a speech, it is not certain what the exact contents were.^[77] On his coronation day, John appointed Walter Lord Chancellor. W. L. Warren, historian and author of a biography of John, says of Walter that "No one living had a firmer grasp of the intricacies of royal government, yet even in old age his mind was adaptable and fecund with suggestions for coping with new problems."^[78]

One of Walter's first suggestions was to lower the fees for having charters confirmed, from nine

Besides sending Walter on diplomatic missions, King John gave Walter custody of Rochester Castle on 20 July 1202, but as Walter was already accounting for the taxes and fees of the city of Rochester to the Exchequer in 1200, it is possible that he held the castle before 1202.^[83] John also upheld the right of the archbishop to mint coins, which Walter held until his death in 1205.^[84]

Under John, Walter continued to be active in ecclesiastical affairs, and in September 1200 held a provincial church council at London. This council set forth 14 canons, or decrees, which dealt with a number of subjects, including doctrinal concerns, financial affairs, and the duties of the clergy. It drew heavily on earlier church decrees, including those of the Third Lateran Council of 1179.^[85] Walter also interceded with Pope Innocent III in 1200, mediating between the pope and the king over a royal dispute with the Cistercians. Walter's intercession prevented the dispute from escalating, and kept the pope from imposing sanctions on the king for his threats to the Cistercians.^[86] It was in 1200 that the church court records of the archdiocese of Canterbury began to be recorded and kept, although after Walter's death in 1205 the records become sparse until the 14th century.^[87]

Death and legacy

Walter died on 13 July 1205, from a septic carbuncle on his back.^[88] The lingering character of his ailment permitted a reconciliation with his monks.^[89] The medieval chronicler Ralph of Coggeshall described his death as taking four days, and related that he gave vestments, jewellery, and altar furnishings to his monks, which were confiscated by King John after Walter's death.^[90] He was buried in the Trinity Chapel in Canterbury Cathedral, next to Thomas Becket, where his tomb can still be seen.^[91][f] The tomb occupied a highly visible spot in the Trinity Chapel, and Walter was the first archbishop to be buried there since the 1170s, when all of the tombs but Becket's had been relocated to focus attention on Becket's shrine. He remained the only ecclesiastic to be buried there until the 14th century.^[93] The use by the archbishops of Canterbury of the title "Primate of All England" dates from Walter's archepiscopal tenure.^[94]

The medieval chronicler Matthew Paris retold the story that when King John heard of Walter's death, the king exclaimed "Now for the first time I am king of England."^[95] This story, however entertaining, is apocryphal.^[96] More secure is the story that another chronicler, Roger of Wendover, relates about Walter's Christmas celebrations in 1200. Roger reports that Walter distributed clothing to those attending his Christmas feast, which angered King John. The chronicler says that Walter "wished to put himself on a par with the king".^[97]

Walter was not a holy man, although he was, as John Gillingham, a historian and biographer of Richard I, says, "one of the most outstanding government ministers in English History".^[98] Hugh of Lincoln, a contemporary and later canonised, is said to have asked forgiveness of God for not having rebuked Walter as often as he probably should have.^[98] Modern historians tend not to share the older view that Walter was the driving force behind the administrative changes during Richard's reign, that Richard was uninterested in government, and that he left all decisions in the hands of his ministers, especially Longchamp and Walter.^[99] The studies of James Holt and others have shown that Richard was highly involved in government decisions, and that it was more a partnership between the king and his ministers.^[100] Walter was, however, very innovative in his approach to government.^[101] Walter continued to enjoy the support of Richard's brother John, and it was during John's reign that a number of Walter's administrative reforms took place, although how much royal initiative was behind the innovations is unknown, given John's interest in government and administration.^[102]

Walter was the butt of jokes about his lack of learning,^[103] and was the target of a series of tales from the pen of the chronicler Gerald of Wales.^[104] Even Walter's supporters could only state that he was "moderately literate".^[105] Walter employed several canon lawyers who had been educated at Bologna^[106] in his household, including John of Tynemouth, Simon of Southwell,^[107] and Honorius of Kent.^[108] He also employed the architect Elias of Dereham, who was one of Walter's executors. Elias is traditionally credited as being the architect of Salisbury Cathedral after Walter's death.^[109] Another scholar employed by Walter was Peter of Blois, who served both Walter and his predecessor as a Latin secretary.^[110]

Little is known of his appearance, although he was described by Gerald of Wales as tall and handsome. Gerald also praised his intelligence and cleverness.^[111]

W. L. Warren advances the theory that either Walter or Geoffrey Fitz Peter, instead of Ranulf Glanvill, was the author of