Walter de Cantilupe[a](died 1266) was amedievalBishop of Worcester.
Walter de Cantilupe | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Worcester | |
 | |
| Elected | 30 August 1236 |
| Term ended | 12 February 1266 |
| Predecessor | William de Blois |
| Successor | Nicholas of Ely |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 18 April 1237 |
| Consecration | 3 May 1237 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1195 |
| Died | 12 February 1266 |
| Denomination | Catholic |
Early life and career
editCantilupe came from a family that had risen by devoted service to the crown. His father,William I de Cantilupe,[1]and his elder brotherWilliam II de Cantilupewere named byRoger of Wendoveramong the evil counsellors of KingJohn of England,apparently for no better reason than that they were consistently loyal to an unpopular master.[2]
Cantilupe at first followed in his father's footsteps, entering the service of theExchequerand acting as an itinerant Justice in the early years ofHenry III.[2][1]
But Cantilupe also took minorholy orders,and, in 1236, although not yet adeacon,received thesee of Worcester.[2]He was elected on 30 August 1236 and was consecrated on 3 May 1237.[3]He was ordained adeaconon 4 April 1237 and a priest on 18 April 1237.[1]
Bishop
editAs bishop, Cantilupe identified himself with the party of ecclesiastical reform, which was then led byEdmund RichandRobert Grosseteste.Like his leaders he was sorely divided between his theoretical belief in thepapacyas a divine institution and his instinctive condemnation of the policy whichPope Gregory IXandPope Innocent IVpursued in their dealings with the English church. At first a court favorite, Cantilupe came at length to the belief that the evils of the time arose from the unprincipled alliance of crown and papacy.[2]
In 1240 Cantilupe conducted the significantSynod of Worcester,advancing many reforms for the church.[citation needed]
Cantilupe raised his voice against papal demands for money, and after the death of Grosseteste in 1253 was the chief spokesman of the nationalist clergy. At the parliament ofOxfordin 1258 he was elected by the popular party as one of their representatives on the committee of twenty-four which undertook to reform the administration; from that time until the outbreak of civil war he was a man of mark in the councils of the baronial party. During the war he sided withSimon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicesterand, through his nephew,Thomas de Cantilupe,who was thenChancellorofOxford University,brought over the university to the popular side.[2]
Cantilupe was present at theBattle of Lewesand blessed the Montfortians before they joined battle with the army of the king; he entertained de Montfort on the night before the final rout and defeat of theBattle of Evesham. During Montfort's rule Cantilupe appeared only as a mediating influence; in the triumvirate of electors who controlled the administration, the clergy were represented by theBishop of Chichester.[2]
Death and legacy
editCantilupe died on 12 February 1266.[3]He was respected by all parties, and, though far inferior in versatility and force of will to Grosseteste, fully merits the admiration which his moral character inspired. He is one of the few constitutionalists of his day whom it is impossible to accuse of interested motives.[2]
Notes
editCitations
edit- ^abcBritish History Online Bishops of Worcesteraccessed on 3 November 2007
- ^abcdefgOne or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Cantilupe, Walter de".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 218.
- ^abFryde, et al.Handbook of British Chronologyp. 279
References
edit- British History Online Bishops of Worcesteraccessed on 3 November 2007
- Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996).Handbook of British Chronology(Third revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-56350-X.