Savaric FitzGeldewin
Savaric fitzGeldewin | |
---|---|
Reginald fitzJocelin | |
Successor | Jocelin of Wells |
Other post(s) | Archdeacon of Northampton Treasurer of Salisbury |
Orders | |
Ordination | 19 September 1192 |
Consecration | 20 September 1192 |
Personal details | |
Died | 18 August 1205 Italy |
Buried | Rome |
Savaric fitzGeldewin
Early life
Savaric's date of birth is unknown. His father was Geldwin, who was a member of the Bohun family
Savaric first appears in the historical record in 1157 when he is named as a
Bishop
Savaric went with Henry's son and successor King Richard I on crusade, and it was while they both were in Sicily that Savaric obtained his bishopric.
When Richard was held for ransom in Germany while returning from crusade, Savaric met with his cousin the Emperor Henry VI in an attempt to secure Richard's release.[10] He remained in Germany throughout 1193 and continued to be involved in the negotiations, until he returned to England at the end of the year.[3] Once Richard was released, Savaric was one of the hostages left behind in Germany to ensure the payment of the remainder of the ransom.[11] It may have been while he was in Germany negotiating about Richard's ransom that he was named imperial chancellor of Burgundy, but as he was not named by that title until 1197, the exact date of his occupation of the office is unclear.[3]
Controversy with Glastonbury
After his consecration, Savaric traded the city of Bath to the king in return for the monastery of Glastonbury. Savaric secured the support of Pope Celestine III for the takeover the abbey as the seat of his bishopric, replacing Bath. The plan was that Savaric would be bishop of Bath as well as abbot of Glastonbury. In his support, Savaric obtained letters from various ecclesiastics, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Hubert Walter, that claimed that this arrangement would settle longstanding disputes between the abbey and the bishops. The monks of Glastonbury objected to Savaric's plan, and sent an appeal to Rome, which was dismissed in 1196. But King Richard, no longer imprisoned in Germany, sided with the monks, and allowed them to elect an abbot, William Pica, in place of Savaric, who responded by excommunicating the new abbot. With the succession of John as king in place of his brother Richard in 1199, Savaric managed to force his way into the monastery and set up his episcopal see within the abbey. The monks appealed to Innocent III, the new pope.[9]
At first, Innocent took the side of the monks, and lifted Pica's excommunication.[9] While the newest appeal was taking place, Pica and a number of his supporters, who had traveled to Rome to appeal in person, died in Rome in 1200,[9][12] and some of the monks alleged this was by poison administered on the orders of Savaric. Meanwhile, Innocent had changed his mind, and reinstalled Savaric as abbot, ordering some English clergy to judge the specifics of the case, and allot the revenues of the abbey between Savaric and the monks. Savaric then attempted to secure more control over other monasteries in his diocese, but died before he could set the plans in motion.[9]
Death and legacy
Savaric died at Civitavecchia or Siena on 8 August 1205[1][8] while visiting the papacy in Rome on business for Peter des Roches, Bishop-elect of Winchester. He was there to support Roches election which had been contested.[13] Roches also supported Savaric in his struggles with Glastonbury, loaning the bishop money and being appointed to a papal commission to deal with Savaric's petitions, which went nowhere because Savaric died before the commission first met.[14] He was buried at Bath.[1]
Notes
- ^ Sometimes known as Savaric FitzGoldwin or Savaric de Bohun.
- ^ How exactly she was related to Henry is unclear. The historian Austin Lane Poole theorized that she was a relative of Joscelin of Louvain, the brother of King Henry I of England's second wife, Adeliza. Another possibility, put forth by the historian Kathleen Thompson, is that she was the daughter of one of Adeliza's household members who came with her from Louvain on her marriage.[4]
Citations
- ^ a b c d e Greenway "Bishops" Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 7: Bath and Wells
- ^ a b Greenway "Treasurers" Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 4: Salisbury
- ^ a b c d e f Ramsey "Savaric" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ a b Thompson "Queen Adeliza" Sussex Archaeological Collections p. 61
- ^ Spear Personnel of the Norman Cathedrals pp. 125–126
- ^ Greenway "Archdeacons of Northampton" Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 3: Lincoln
- ^ Greenway "Archdeacons: Canterbury" Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 2: Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces)
- ^ a b c Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 228
- ^ a b c d e Knowles Monastic Order pp. 328–329
- ^ Gillingham Richard I p. 236
- ^ Gillingham Richard I p. 248 and footnote 94
- ^ Knowles, et al. Heads of Religious Houses p. 52
- ^ Vincent Peter des Roches p. 52
- ^ Vincent Peter des Roches p. 75
References
- Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
- ISBN 0-300-07912-5.
- Greenway, Diana E. (1971). "Archdeacons: Canterbury". Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300. Vol. 2: Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces). Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
- Greenway, Diana E. (1977). "Archdeacons of Northampton". Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300. Vol. 3: Lincoln. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 23 September 2007.
- Greenway, Diana E. (1991). "Treasurers". Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300. Vol. 4: Salisbury. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 23 September 2007.
- Greenway, Diana E. (2001). "Bishops". Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300. Vol. 7: Bath and Wells. Institute for Historical Research. Retrieved 23 September 2007.
- ISBN 0-521-80452-3.
- ISBN 0-521-05479-6.
- Ramsey, Frances (2004). "Savaric (d. 1205)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/24732. Retrieved 15 November 2007.(subscription or UK public library membershiprequired)
- Spear, David S. (2006). The Personnel of the Norman Cathedrals during the Ducal Period, 911–1204. Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae. London: Institute of Historical Research. ISBN 1-871348-95-1.
- Thompson, Kathleen (2002). "Queen Adeliza and the Lotharingian Connection". Sussex Archaeological Collections. 40: 57–64. doi:10.5284/1085796.
- Vincent, Nicholas (2002). Peter des Roches: An Alien in English Politics 1205–1238 (Reprint ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-52215-3.
Further reading
- OCLC 422032515.