William Longchamp
|
|
| Denomination |
Catholic |
| Senior posting |
| See |
Bishop of Ely |
| Title |
|
| Period in office |
1189–1197 |
| Predecessor |
Geoffrey Ridel |
| Successor |
Eustace |
| Personal |
| Date of birth |
|
| Place of birth |
|
| Date of death |
January 1197 |
William Longchamp (died 1197), chancellor of England and bishop of Ely, entered public life at the close of Henry II's
reign as official to the king's son Geoffrey, for the archdeaconry of
Rouen. Henry II, who disliked him, called him the son of two traitors. He soon deserted Geoffrey for Richard, who made him chancellor of the Duchy of
Aquitaine. He always showed himself an able diplomat.
He first distinguished himself at Paris, as Richard's envoy, when he defeated
Henry II's attempt to make peace with Philip Augustus in 1189. On Richard's
accession in 1189 Longchamp became chancellor of the kingdom[1] and bishop of Ely. He was consectarted on December 31, 1189.[2] When Richard left England in December 1189, he put the
tower of London in Longchamp's hands and chose him to share with Hugh de Puiset, the great bishop of Durham, the office of
chief justiciar. Longchamp immediately quarrelled with Hugh, and by April 1190 had managed to
oust him completely from office.[3] In
June 1190 he received a commission as a papal legate from Pope Clement III. He was then master in church as well as state. But his disagreeable appearance and
manners, his pride, his contempt for everything English made him detested. His progresses through the country with a train of a
thousand knights were ruinous to those on whom devolved the burden of entertaining him. Even John seemed preferable to him.
John soon returned to England; he and his adherents were immediately involved in disputes with Longchamp, who was always
worsted. At last in June 1191 Geoffrey, Archbishop of York and Longchamp's earliest benefactor (the aforementioned son of Henry
II), was violently arrested by Longchamp's subordinates on landing at Dover. They exceeded their
orders, which were to prevent the archbishop from entering England until he had sworn fealty to Richard. But this outrage was
made a pretext for a general rising against Longchamp, whose legatine commission had now expired due to the death of the Pope
Clement III, and whose power was now threatened by the presence of Walter de
Coutances, Archbishop of Rouen, who, despite his name, was a Cornishman.
Coutances had been given powers by the King which superseded those of Longchamp. He shut himself up in the Tower, but he was
forced to surrender his castles and was expelled from the kingdom. In 1193 he joined Richard in Germany, and Richard seems to
have attributed the settlement soon after concluded between himself and the emperor,
to his dearest chancellor. For the rest of the reign Longchamp was employed in confidential and diplomatic missions by Richard
all over the continent, in Germany, in France and at Rome. He died in January 1197.[2] His loyalty to Richard was unswerving, and
it was no doubt through his unscrupulous devotion to the royal interest that he incurred the hatred of Richard's English
subjects.
Notes
- ^ Powicke Handbook of British Chronology p. 82
- ^ a b Powicke Handbook of British Chronology p. 223
- ^ Powicke Handbook of British Chronology p. 70
References
- Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde Handbook of British Chronology 2nd. ed.
London:Royal Historical Society 1961
See Also
| Persondata |
| NAME |
Longchamp, William |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES |
|
| SHORT DESCRIPTION |
Lord Chancellor of England, Bishop of Ely, Chief Justiciar of England |
| DATE OF BIRTH |
|
| PLACE OF BIRTH |
|
| DATE OF DEATH |
January 1197 |
| PLACE OF DEATH |
|
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