Rowland Lee (bishop)
King Henry VIII
.
Life
His family hailed from
Lord President of the Council of Wales and the Marches.[3]
As the Lord President, under the direction of
Thomas Cromwell, he set out to bring law and order to the Welsh regions.[3] What ensued was a reign of terror, in which Leigh decided the best way to deal with the 'lawless' Welsh was to convict and hang without impunity. It is claimed that Bishop Leigh hanged 5,000 Welshmen in his five years; probably an exaggeration, but in any event indicates the character of the man described as a "great despiser of Welshmen" by Dafydd Jenkins
.
Leigh was also disliked among the gentry for giving them scant respect, despite being related to them; he once boasted to have hanged "Five of the best blood in the county of Shropshire".[4]
The "Hanging Bishop" was said to be disappointed and incensed when the first
Act of Union was enacted in 1536, as he believed the Welsh could not be trusted as part of England. Leigh died at Shrewsbury, and was buried there in St Chad's Church.[4]
See also
- List of the Bishops of the Diocese of Lichfield and its precursor offices
References
- ^ The History of the Life and Times of Cardinal Wolsey, Joseph Grove, Vol. III, p. 322
- ^ Perceval, Arthur Philip. An Apology for the Doctrine of Apostolical Succession: With an Appendix, on the English Orders. second edition (London: Rivington, 1841) p. 188.
- ^ a b Chisholm 1911.
- ^ a b Jones 2004.
External links
Attribution
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lee, Rowland". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Jones, Michael A. (2004). "Lee, Rowland". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/16307. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
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