Simon Mepeham
| Simon Mepeham | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Canterbury | |
 Tomb of Mepeham in Canterbury Cathedral |
|
| Elected | 11 December 1327 |
| Enthroned | 22 January 1329 |
| Reign ended | 12 October 1333 |
| Predecessor | Walter Reynolds |
| Successor | John de Stratford |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 21 September 1297 |
| Consecration | 5 June 1328 |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 12 October 1333 |
Simon Mepeham (or Meopham or Mepham; died 1333) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1328 to 1333.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Mepeham was educated at Oxford between the years 1290 through 1296 at Merton College where he devoted himself to the study of theology and was ordained priest on 21 September 1297 by Archbishop Robert Winchelsey in Canterbury Cathedral, who gave Simon the Rectory of Tunstall in Kent.
Mepeham became Prebendary of Llandaff in 1295 and soon after a Canon of Chichester but took no interest or role part in public affairs.[1]
[edit] Archbishop of Canterbury
Mepeham was the candidate of the Earl of Lancaster against the candidate supported by Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer.[2] Elected to the Archbishopric of Canterbury on 11 December 1327, Simon Mepeham was consecrated on 5 June 1328, and received the temporalities of the see of Canterbury on 19 September 1328.[3] That winter, he supported a rebellion against the rule of Roger Mortimer that was led by the Earl of Lancaster and supported by the Earl of Norfolk, Earl of Kent and others.[4]
Archbishop Mepeham's register is lost[5] and as a result what we know of his see is gleaned from the chroniclers William Thorne and William Dene[5] Mepehem was considered to be a "man of no great ability and with scanty knowledge of ecclesiastical tradition and propriety, and the maintenance of the rights of his See caused disputes on every side."[1]
[edit] Dispute and excommunication
Mepeham became involved in a dispute about the juridical rights of Churches that had been appropriated by the Monastery of St. Augustine. The monks made an appeal against the Archbishop and the Canon of Salisbury was appointed to mediate. Mepeham was cited to give evidence before the Canon, but refused to attend. The suffragans of Canterbury were in support of Mepeham, but his refusal to submit to the judicial process of the Church led to his excommunication by Pope John XXII in 1333.[6]
Mepeham was later re-communicated with Rome, but was not re-instated as Bishop.
[edit] Death and afterward
Mepeham died on 12 October 1333.[3] He is buried in a tomb made of black marble which is located beneath the arch of entrance to the chapel of St. Anselm in the Canterbury Cathedral.[1]
[edit] Citations
[edit] References
- Carpenter, E. with Hastings, A. Cantaur 3rd Edition London:Mowbray, 1997. (ISBN 0264674499)
- 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.
- Haines, Roy (June 1997). "An Innocent Abroad: The Career of Simon Mepham, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1328–33". The English Historical Review CXII (447): 555–596. doi:10.1093/ehr/CXII.447.555.
- Powell, J. Enoch and Keith Wallis The House of Lords in the Middle Ages: A History of the English House of Lords to 1540 London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1968
- Weir, Alison Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery and Murder in Medieval England New York: Ballantine 2005 ISBN 0-345-45319-0
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Walter Reynolds |
Archbishop of Canterbury 1328–1333 |
Succeeded by John de Stratford |
