William Courtenay
William Courtenay | |
---|---|
Archbishop of Canterbury | |
Church | Catholic Church |
Appointed | 30 July 1381 |
Installed | unknown |
Term ended | 31 July 1396 |
Predecessor | Simon Sudbury |
Successor | Thomas Arundel |
Other post(s) | Bishop of Hereford Bishop of London |
Orders | |
Consecration | 17 March 1370 |
Personal details | |
Born | |
Died | 31 July 1396 (aged around 54) Maidstone, Kingdom of England |
Buried | Canterbury Cathedral |
William Courtenay (c. 1342[1] – 31 July 1396) was Archbishop of Canterbury (1381–1396), having previously been Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London.
Early life and education
Courtenay was a younger son of
Being a native of the west of England, Courtenay was educated at
Career
Having been made prebendary of Exeter, of Wells and of York, he was consecrated bishop of Hereford on 17 March 1370,[4] was translated to the see of London on 12 September 1375,[5] and became Archbishop of Canterbury on 30 July 1381, succeeding Simon of Sudbury in both these latter positions.[3][6]
As a politician, the period of Courtenay's activity coincides with the years of Edward III's dotage, and with practically the whole of Richard II's reign. From the first he ranged himself among the opponents of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster; he was a firm upholder of the rights of the English Church, and was always eager to root out Lollardry. In 1373 he declared in convocation that he would not contribute to a subsidy until the evils from which the church suffered were removed; in 1375 he incurred the displeasure of the king by publishing a papal bull against the Florentines; and in 1377 his decided action during the quarrel between John of Gaunt and William of Wykeham ended in a temporary triumph for the bishop.[3]
Courtenay was for a short time chancellor of England during 1381,[7] and in January 1382 he officiated at the marriage of Richard II with Anne of Bohemia, afterwards crowning the queen. In 1382 the archbishop's visitation led to disputes with the bishops of Exeter and Salisbury, and Courtenay was only partially able to enforce the payment of a special tax to meet his expenses on this occasion. During his concluding years the archbishop appears to have upheld the papal authority in England, although not to the injury of the English Church.[3]
In 1390 Courtenay protested against confirmation of the
Death
Courtenay died at Maidstone on 31 July 1396,[6] and was buried towards the east end of the quire in Canterbury Cathedral.[3] He was responsible for the expansion of his family's chantry foundation in Somerset, Naish Priory, as well as significant building works at Christ Church Canterbury and Maidstone College.[citation needed]
Citations
- required.)
- ^ Lysons and Lysons "Parishes: Exminster – Exmouth" Magna Britannia: volume 6: Devonshire
- ^ a b c d e f g Chisholm 1911.
- ^ Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 250
- ^ Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 258
- ^ a b Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 233
- ^ Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 87
References
- Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
- Lysons, Daniel and Samuel (1822). "Parishes: Exminster – Exmouth". Magna Britannia: volume 6: Devonshire. Institute of Historical Research. pp. 234–236.
- Hunt, William (1887). Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 12. London: Smith, Elder & Co. . In
- OCLC 53276621.
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Courtenay, William". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 327. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the