Wikipedia:
Walter de Coutances |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Senior posting | |
| See | Archbishop of Rouen |
| Title | |
| Period in office | 1184–1207 |
| Predecessor | Rotrou |
| Successor | Robert III Poulain |
| Previous bishoprics | Bishop of Lincoln |
| Personal | |
| Date of birth | |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | 1207 |
Walter de Coutances (or Walter de Coutances or Walter of Coutances) (d. 1207) was a medieval bishop of Lincoln and archbishop of Rouen.
Life
He commenced his career in the chancery of Henry II.
He became Vice-Chancellor of England, Canon and Treasurer of Rouen Cathedral in 1173. He became Archdeacon of Oxford in 1175 and elected Bishop of Lincoln on May 8 1183, and was consecrated bishop on July 3 1183.[1] On November 17 1184 he obtained, with the king's help, the see of Rouen.[1]
Throughout his career he was much employed in diplomatic and administrative duties. He started with Richard I for the Third Crusade, but was sent back from Messina to investigate the charges which the barons and the official class had brought against the chancellor, William Longchamp. There was no love lost between the two; and they were popularly supposed to be rivals for the see of Canterbury. The archbishop of Rouen sided with the barons and John, and sanctioned Longchamp's deposition--a step which was technically warranted by the powers which Richard had given, but by no means calculated to protect the interests of the crown.
Wallingford Castle was entrusted to the archbishop while Richard I was at the crusades, but John besieged it, ousting the archbishop.
The Great Council now recognized the archbishop as Chief Justiciar although he was never named such in any documents, and he remained at the head of the government till 1193, when he was replaced by Hubert Walter.[2] The archbishop did good service in the negotiations for Richard's release, but subsequently quarrelled with his master and laid Normandy under an interdict, because the border stronghold of Château-Gaillard in the Vexin Normand had been built on his land without his consent.
After Richard's death the archbishop accepted John as the lawful heir of Normandy and consecrated him as duke. But his personal inclinations leaned to Arthur of Brittany, whom he was with difficulty dissuaded from supporting. The archbishop accepted the French conquest of Normandy in 1204 with equanimity although he kept to his old allegiance while the issue of the struggle was in doubt. He did not long survive the conquest, and his later history is a blank.
Notes
References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
- Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde Handbook of British Chronology 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961
Further Reading
See
See Also
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William Longchamp |
Chief Justiciar 1191–1193 |
Succeeded by Hubert Walter |
| Religious titles | ||
| Preceded by Geoffrey Plantagenet |
Bishop of Lincoln 1183–1184 |
Succeeded by Hugh of Avalon |
| Preceded by Rotrou |
Archbishop of
Rouen 1184–1207 |
Succeeded by Robert III Poulain |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Walter de Coutances |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Walter of Coutances |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Bishop of Lincoln, Archbishop of Rouen, Chief Justiciar of England |
| DATE OF BIRTH | |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1207 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
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