Simon Langham
| Simon Langham O.S.B. | |
|---|---|
| Cardinal, Archbishop of Canterbury Primate of All England | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Appointed | 24 July 1366 |
| Installed | unknown |
| Term ended | 28 November 1368 |
| Predecessor | William Edington |
| Successor | William Whittlesey |
| Other posts | Cardinal-Bishop of Sabina Bishop of Ely |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 20 March 1362 by William Edington |
| Created cardinal | 22 September 1368 by Pope Urban V |
| Rank | Cardinal-Bishop |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1310 Langham, Rutland, England |
| Died | 22 July 1376 (aged 65–66) Avignon, France |
| Buried | Westminster Abbey |
Simon Langham (1310 – 22 July 1376) was an English clergyman who was Archbishop of Canterbury and a cardinal.
Life
Langham was born at Langham in Rutland. The manor of Langham was a property of Westminster Abbey, and he had become a monk in the Benedictine Abbey of St Peter at Westminster by 1346, and later prior and then abbot of this house.[1] He was the son of Thomas Langham who was buried in the abbey.[2]
Treasurer of England
In November 1360, Langham was made Treasurer of England[3] and on 10 January 1362 he became Bishop of Ely and was consecrated on 20 March 1362.[4] During his time as Bishop of Ely he was a major benefactor of Peterhouse, Cambridge, giving them the rectory of Cherry Hinton.[5] He resigned the treasurership before 20 February 1363,[3] and was appointed Chancellor of England on 21 February 1363.[6]
Archbishop of Canterbury
He was chosen Archbishop of Canterbury on 24 July 1366.[7]
Perhaps the most interesting incident in Langham's primacy was when he drove the secular clergy from Canterbury College, Oxford and filled their places with monks or friars in 1366. The expelled head of the seculars was a certain John de Wiclif, who has been identified with the reformer John Wycliffe. In 1371 Wycliffe's appeal to Rome was decided and was unfavourable to him. The incident was typical of the ongoing rivalry between monks and secular clergy at Oxford University at this time.[8]
Notwithstanding the part Langham as Chancellor had taken in the anti-papal measures of 1365 and 1366, he was made cardinal of San Sisto Vecchio by Pope Urban V in 1368. This lost him the favour of Edward III; two months later, he resigned his archbishopric and went to Avignon.[7] He had already resigned the chancellorship on 18 July 1367.[6] He was soon allowed to hold other although less exalted positions in England.
Death
In 1374, he was elected Archbishop of Canterbury for the second time, but he withdrew his claim and died at Avignon on 22 July 1376. He was buried in Avignon but his body was moved to Westminster Abbey in 1379.[2] Langham's tomb, in the chapel of St Benedict, is the work of Henry Yevele and Stephen Lote, and dates from 1389-1395.[2] It is the oldest monument to an ecclesiastic in the Abbey.
Langham left the residue of his large estate and his library to Westminster Abbey, and has been called its second founder. His bequest paid for the building of the western section of the nave. The books he gave are listed in The Manuscripts of Westminster Abbey (1909) by J. A. Robinson and M. R. James.[2]
From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
Simon Langham — Cardinal, Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellor of England, b. at Langham in Rutland; d. at Avignon, France, 22 July, 1376. Nothing is known of his early life, but in 1346 he was already a Benedictine monk of Westminster Abbey, representing his house in the triennial chapter. In April, 1349, he was made prior, and in May he became abbot. In this office he proved very successful, ruling well and carrying out many works, including the completion of the cloisters. He became treasurer of England on 21 Nov., 1360, and Bishop of Ely on 10 Jan., 1362. Before consecration he was also elected Bishop of London, but he refused this see, preferringEly. On 19 Feb., 1363, he received the great seal as chancellor, and he was the first to speak in English when opening Parliament. He was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury on 24 July, 1366, and received the pallium from the pope on 4 Nov., having previously resigned the chancellorship. As archbishop he was vigilant against false doctrine, condemned certain propositions taught at Oxford, removed one Wycliffe-not the well-known heretic of that name-from the headship of Canterbury Hall, and censured the demagogue-priest, John Ball. Blessed Urban V created him Cardinal of St. Sixtus, 27 Sept., 1368. His acceptance of this dignity without the king's leave offended Edward III, who seized the Canterbury revenues on the plea that Langham had by his act forfeited the see. Langham resigned the archbishopric on 27 Nov., and early in 1369 joined the Pope at Avignon, being succeeded at Canterbury by Whittlesey. Subsequently he regained the king's favor, but did not return to his native country, though he held several English preferments in succession, such as the archdeaconries of Wells and Taunton. Gregory XI made him Cardinal-Bishop of Palestrina in July, 1373, and in the following year the monks at Canterbury again elected him as archbishop. The pope refused to confirm this, alleging that he could not spare the cardinal from Avignon. When the Curia was about to return to Rome in 1376, Langham obtained permission to go back to England, but he died before he could carry out this intention. Three years after his death, his remains were translated from Avignon to Westminster Abbey to which he had bequeathed his residuary estate. He was an upright man, and an able, if stern, ruler.
WALSINGHAM, Historia Anglicana, Rolls Series (London, 1863-4); MURIMUTH, Continuatio Chronicorum, Rolls Series (London, 1889); HOOK, Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury (London, 1860-1884); WILLIAMS, Lives of the English Cardinals (London, 1868); KINGSFORD in Dict. Nat. Biog., s.v.
References
- Back to citation Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 105
- Back to citation occurrence 2.0 Back to citation occurrence 2.1 Back to citation occurrence 2.2 Back to citation occurrence 2.3 "Simon & Thomas Langham". westminster-abbey.org.uk. Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
- Back to citation occurrence 3.0 Back to citation occurrence 3.1 Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 104
- Back to citation Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 244
- Back to citation "Lyson's Magna Britanica Vol II" The Monthly Review January–April 1812 p. 21
- Back to citation occurrence 6.0 Back to citation occurrence 6.1 Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 86
- Back to citation occurrence 7.0 Back to citation occurrence 7.1 Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 233
- Back to citation Estep, William Roscoe (1986). Renaissance and Reformation. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 978-0802800503. Retrieved 26 October 2019 – via Google Books.
Bibliography
- 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.