John de Stratford
| John de Stratford | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Canterbury | |
 Tomb of Stratford in Canterbury Cathedral |
|
| Appointed | 3 November 1333 |
| Enthroned | unknown |
| Reign ended | 23 August 1348 |
| Predecessor | Simon Mepeham |
| Successor | John de Ufford |
| Other posts | Bishop of Winchester |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 23 August 1348 Mayfield, Sussex |
John de Stratford (died 1348) was Archbishop of Canterbury and Treasurer and Chancellor of England.
Contents |
Life [edit]
De Stratford was born at Stratford-on-Avon and educated at Merton College, Oxford, afterwards entering the service of Edward II.
De Stratford served as archdeacon of Lincoln, canon of York and dean of the court of arches before 20 June 1323, when he became Bishop of Winchester,[1] an appointment which was made during his visit to Pope John XXII at Avignon and which was very much disliked by Edward II. In 1327 the bishop joined Queen Isabella's partisans; he drew up the six articles against Edward II, and was one of those who visited the captive king at Kenilworth to urge him to abdicate in favour of his son.[citation needed] On 26 November 1326 he was appointed Lord Treasurer of England, a post he held until 28 January 1327.[2]
Under Edward III de Stratford became a member of the royal council, but his high political importance dates from the autumn of 1330, the time when Roger Mortimer lost his power. In November of that year Stratford became chancellor, and for the next ten years he was actively engaged in public business, being the king's most prominent adviser and being politically, says Stubbs, the "head of the Lancastrian or constitutional party."
On 3 November 1333 de Stratford was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury[3] and he resigned the chancellorship in the following year; however, he held this office again from 1335 to 1337 and for about two months in 1340.[4] In November 1340 Edward III, humiliated, impecunious and angry, returned suddenly to England from Flanders and vented his wrath upon the archbishop's brother, the chancellor, Robert de Stratford. Fearing arrest the archbishop fled to Canterbury, and entered upon a violent war of words with the king, and by his firm conduct led to the establishment of the principle that peers were only to be tried in full parliament before their own order (en pleyn parlement et devant les piers). But good relations were soon restored between the two, and the archbishop acted as president of the council during Edward's absence from England in 1345 and 1346, although he never regained his former position of influence.[5] His concluding years were mainly spent in the discharge of his spiritual duties, and he died at Mayfield, Sussex on 23 August 1348.[3]
Robert de Stratford and Ralph de Stratford, who Bishop of London from 1340 until 1354, were members of the same family. All three prelates were benefactors to Stratford-on-Avon.
Citations [edit]
References [edit]
- 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.
- Powell, J. Enoch; Wallis, Keith (1968). The House of Lords in the Middle Ages: A History of the English House of Lords to 1540. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. OCLC 463626.
Further reading [edit]
- Haines, Roy Martin (1986). Archbishop John Stratford, Political Revolutionary and Champion of the Liberties of the English Church, ca.1275/80-1348. Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. ISBN 0888440766.
- Haines, R.M., ed. (2010). The Register of John de Stratford, Bishop of Winchester, 1323-1333: Vol. I. Surrey Record Society 42. Woking. ISBN 9780902978171.
- Haines, R.M., ed. (2011). The Register of John de Stratford, Bishop of Winchester, 1323-1333: Vol. II. Surrey Record Society 43. Woking. ISBN 9780902978188.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William Melton |
Lord High Treasurer 1326–1327 |
Succeeded by Adam Orleton |
| Preceded by Henry Burghersh |
Lord Chancellor 1330–1334 |
Succeeded by Richard Bury |
| Preceded by Richard Bury |
Lord Chancellor 1335–1337 |
Succeeded by Robert de Stratford |
| Preceded by Richard Bintworth |
Lord Chancellor 1340 |
Succeeded by Robert Bourchier |
| Catholic Church titles | ||
| Preceded by Rigaud of Assier |
Bishop of Winchester 1323–1333 |
Succeeded by Adam Orleton |
| Preceded by Simon Mepeham |
Archbishop of Canterbury 1333–1348 |
Succeeded by John de Ufford |
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
