Geoffrey, Archbishop of York

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Geoffrey, Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
Priory of Saint Michael at Grandmont, where Geoffrey died and was buried.
Enthroned	unknown
Ended	12 December 1212
Predecessor	Roger de Pont L'Evêque
Successor	Walter de Gray
Born	about 1152
Died	12 December 1212 Grandmont, Normandy
Buried	Grandmont

Geoffrey, Archbishop of York (c. 1152 – 12 December 1212) was an illegitimate son of Henry II, King of England who became Bishop-elect of Lincoln and Archbishop of York. The identity of his mother is unclear, for the one contemporary source that gives any information on her is hostile to Geoffrey. It is possible she was a woman named Ykenai, or possibly she was Rosamund Clifford. Geoffrey held a number of lower clerical offices before being named Bishop of Lincoln in 1173, although he was not ordained a priest until 1189. In 1173–1174 he led a campaign in the north of England to help put down a rebellion by his legitimate half-brothers, which led to the capture of the king of Scots. By 1182, Pope Lucius III ordered that Geoffrey either resign Lincoln or be consecrated, and he resigned the see, or bishopric, and became Chancellor instead. He was the one son of Henry II's present at the king's death.

Upon the ascension of King Richard I of England, Geoffrey was nominated as Archbishop of York, probably in order to force a potential rival to the throne to become a priest and thus out of contention for the throne. After a dispute about the nomination, he was consecrated archbishop in 1191, and promptly entered a dispute with William Longchamp, Richard's regent in England, when Geoffrey attempted to go to his province. When Longchamp had Geoffrey dragged from sanctuary, a council of magnates ordered Longchamp out of office, and Geoffrey was able to proceed to York. The archbishop spent much of his archiepiscopate in various disputes with his brothers, both Richard, and after Richard's death, King John of England, who succeeded Richard in 1199. Geoffrey also quarrelled with his suffragan bishops, his cathedral chapter, and other clergy in his diocese. His last quarrel with John was in 1207, when the archbishop refused to allow the collection of a tax and was driven into exile in France, where he died in 1212.

[edit] Early life

Henry II with Thomas Becket, from a 13th century manuscript

Geoffrey was probably born around 1152,^[1] before his father married Eleanor of Aquitaine,^[2] and probably was named after his grandfather, Geoffrey of Anjou, Henry's father. His mother's identity is unclear. The medieval chronicler Walter Map claimed she was a whore named Ykenai, and that he was not actually Henry's son. This is the only contemporary source that gives her name, and as Map was hostile to Geoffrey, the information must be judged carefully. There is no evidence that Henry ever did anything other than accept his paternity. It's possible his mother was Rosamund Clifford, but the evidence for this is circumstantial.^[3]

He was an archdeacon of the diocese of Lincoln by September 1171, and probably retained that office until he was confirmed as bishop-elect in 1175.^[4] He also held a prebend in the diocese of London, but there is little evidence of him actually executing the duties of either office. There is some evidence that he studied law at a school in Northampton, and more evidence that he taught at Paris in the early 1170s.^[3] He was selected as Bishop of Lincoln about May 1173; he at first was refused confirmation by Pope Alexander III, and went to Rome in October 1174 to secure confirmation, which happened before July 1175. He was not ordained at this time, however.^[5] Alexander's objection was that Geoffrey was too young to hold episcopal office, and only confirmed the office under pressure.^[3]

In 1173 and early 1174 Geoffrey fought a campaign in northern England that supported his father's attempts to subdue the Scots. The campaign resulted in the capture of William the Lion, the king of Scots and also helped to compel Hugh du Puiset, the Bishop of Durham to pledge fealty to Henry II.^[3] It was after this campaign that Henry is said to have told Geoffrey "My other sons are the real bastards. This is the only one who's proved himself legitimate!"^[6] He then was confirmed as bishop by Pope Alexander, and was sent to study at Tours. It was during this period that he probably befriended Peter of Blois, a medieval poet and diplomat, who dedicated a later work to Geoffrey. He made a number of gifts to the cathedral at Lincoln, including two bells for the bell tower.^[3] While he was the bishop-elect at Lincoln, it appears that Adam, Bishop of St Asaph performed the episcopal duties in the diocese of Lincoln, as Geoffrey had never been consecrated and was unable to do so.^[7] In 1180, he taxed his diocese heavily enough that it earned him a rebuke from his father.^[3]

[edit] Chancellor

Richard I of England and Philip II of France, from a 14th century illuminated manuscript.

Geoffrey resigned the see of Lincoln on 6 January 1182,^[8] rather than be ordained as Pope Lucius III had ordered.^[3] Henry then named him chancellor in 1181.^[9] Geoffrey held a number of benefices in plurality, including Treasurer of York from 1182, the Archdeaconry of Rouen from 1183,^[10] and probably the Archdeaconry of East Riding.^[11] Henry also gave him two continental castles, one in Anjou and one in Touraine along with lands in England and Normandy worth 1000 marks a year. Although he held the office of chancellor, he appears in few documents, and those mainly from 1182 to 1185. After 1185, he does not appear in any contemporary documents until 1187, and it is possible that he spent some time outside his father's domains. Peter of Blois wrote that a number of monarchs considered Geoffrey as a possible successor.^[3]

When Prince Richard and King Philip II of France declared war on Henry in 1187, Henry gave Geoffrey command of a quarter of the English royal army, and he was with Henry when the king was driven from Le Mans in 1189.^[3] Geoffrey was the one son of Henry II's that was present at the death of the king.^[12] He did not attend the conference where Henry submitted to King Philip II of France right before Henry's death, unable to see his father's humiliation. Henry made a bedside wish that Geoffrey be made either Archbishop of York or Bishop of Winchester, and he used his father's seal to make appointments to York after Henry's death. Geoffrey then escorted Henry's body to Fontevrault where it was buried.^[3]

[edit] Archbishop

Richard named Geoffrey archbishop of York in August 1189, within days of Richard taking the throne.^[3] But his consecration did not take place until much later.^[13] Soon after his election, he either resigned or was stripped of his office of chancellor.^[9] Richard probably gave York to Geoffrey in order to make him become a full priest and eliminate a potential rival to the throne.^[14][15] The cathedral chapter at York, however, disputed the election, claiming that because the Dean of York, Hubert Walter as well as some of the chapter had not been present, the election was not valid. Richard then kept the estates of the archbishopric in his own power and did not confirm the election until a council held at Pipewell on 16 September. Also at this council, Richard appointed three men to offices within the diocese of York, making Henry Marshal the dean, Burchard du Puiset, who was a nephew of Hugh, the treasurer, and Roger of London the abbot of Selby Abbey. Geoffrey objected to these appointments, and had his estates taken by the king until Geoffrey submitted and became a priest.^[3] His ordination as a priest took place at Southwell on 23 September 1189,^[1] and then went to York, where he refused to make Burchard treasurer before the archiepiscopal election had been ratified by the papacy. This was secured in December, when the papal legate Giovanni di Anagni not only confirmed the election, but rejected the various appeals made by the cathedral chapter against Geoffrey. The king, however, made Geoffrey allow the royal appointments and pay a fine of 2000 pounds before his lands were restored.^[3][16]

In early 1190, Geoffrey stopped services in the cathedral and excommunicated Henry Marshal and Burchard in retaliation for a dispute during a church service. This led Richard to insist on payment of the fine, which the archbishop-elect was unable to do because Hugh du Puiset, who was Justiciar, impeded attempts to collect money for the fine. Because of the non-payment, Richard then re-confiscated Geoffrey's lands, upped the fine amount, and demanded a promise that he would not visit England for three years. The pope stepped into the dispute and ratified the election, thus enabling a reconciliation between the king and the archbishop at Tours in June. Geoffrey received his estates back in July, after paying 800 marks of his fine.^[3]

Dover Castle, where Geoffrey was briefly imprisoned

Geoffrey was consecrated on 18 August 1191,^[13] at Tours, when he received his pallium, the symbol of an archbishop's authority.^[1] In 1191, after the consecration, he attempted to go to York, but was met at Dover by agents of the chancellor, William Longchamp, and even though he took refuge in the priory of St. Martin in Dover, was dragged from sanctuary and imprisoned in Dover Castle.^[17] Longchamp claimed that Geoffrey had not sworn fealty to Richard, but this was likely just an excuse to eliminate a rival.^[12] The archbishop was soon released, and took part in a council held at Loddon Bridge between Reading and Windsor. This council excommunicated Longchamp and led to the deposition of Longchamp from the chancellorship.^[18] It was during this time that Geoffrey started his feud with Hugh du Puiset, probably over Geoffrey's authority in Hugh's diocese of Durham, one of the dioceses subject to York. The feud dragged on for years, with many appeals to Rome and the king.^[3]

Geoffrey long faced opposition from part of his cathedral chapter, with the opposition led by Henry Marshal, Burchard du Puiset, and Roger of London. The chapter objected to his having given a large part of York's treasury towards Richard's ransom, and to some of his appointments in the church of York. Charges of simony, extortion, and neglect of his duties were lodged against Geoffrey, who in return excommunicated the ringleaders more than once, and locked the canons out of church.^[3] He also faced problems in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, for Pope Celestine III gave a papal legateship to Hubert Walter that included Geoffrey's province, something that had not been normal in the preceding years, and was probably due to Celestine's dislike of Geoffrey.^[19]

When Prince John of England rebelled in 1193, Geoffrey and Hugh du Puiset put aside their feud in order to put down the rebellion. He strengthened the defenses of Doncaster and came to the aid of Puiset, who was besieging Tickhill Castle.^[3] In 1194 Geoffrey went into debt to the crown for the sum of 3000 marks in order to buy the office of Sheriff of Yorkshire.^[20] He quarrelled with Richard in 1196 and Richard forbade Geoffrey from administering York.^[21] This forced the archbishop to go to Rome to deal with the appeals of his various antagonists, who capitulated shortly after Geoffrey's arrival. He still remained estranged from Richard, however, and stayed in Rome until 1198, when an attempt at reconcilation came to nothing, even with the aid of Pope Innocent III, who on 28 April 1199 ordered Geoffrey restored to his lands.^[3]

[edit] Under John

When John succeeded Richard in 1199, John decided to restore Geoffrey to the archiepiscopal estates, but continued to receive the income until the archbishop returned from Rome.^[22] A number of Geoffrey's opponents who were officials in his diocese resigned their offices and for a short time peace reigned in York.^[3]

In 1200 Geoffrey refused to allow the collection of carucage, a tax on land, on his property, and his lands were confiscated in retaliation.^[3] He then excommunicated the new sheriff of Yorkshire, James de Poterna, who had ravaged Geoffrey's lands in revenge. In January 1201, John made peace with his half brother,^[23] but it did not last, as Geoffrey continued to refuse to allow the tax to be collected. John then renewed the demand for the payment for the office of sheriff due from Richard's reign, which forced Geoffrey to rescind his excommunication and offer another payment in return for peace, which occurred in May 1201. But it was a short peace, as disputes over the appointments in the diocese of York broke out, but Geoffrey managed to gain the support of Pope Innocent in some of the disputes and thus he was able to secure the appointment of a few of his own candidates.^[3]

Geoffrey submitted to John in 1206, and received his lands once more.^[3] But in 1207, Geoffrey led the clergy of England in their refusal to pay royal taxation and was forced into exile.^[24] In this dispute, he once more secured the support of Pope Innocent, who ordered John to restore Geoffrey's possessions, but in the meantime the archbishop had fled to France. A medieval chronicler, Geoffrey of Coldingham, stated that the English church considered Geoffrey as a martyr because of this controversy.^[3]

The archbishop died while still in exile at Grandmont in Normandy on 12 December 1212.^[1][13] He was buried at Notre-Dame de Grandmont.^[1] Although his archiepiscopate was mainly marked by the amazing amount of conflicts he engaged in, he also managed to institute some administrative reforms in his diocese, creating the office of chancellor. He also inspired loyalty from a number of his household members, many of whom witness his charters. He was also known as a patron of scholarship, and while he made enemies of a number of his suffragan bishops and of clergy and religious houses in his diocese, he also secured the friendship and support of other clergy, including Pope Innocent III and St Hugh of Lincoln. His loyalty to his father was also an important part of his legacy.^[3]

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Douie, D. (1960). "Archbishop Geoffrey Plantagenet and the chapter of York". St Anthony's Hall Publications 18.