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244 April
Notes and DocumentsThe Excommunication of Grosseteste in
124.3
THE dispute between Robert Grosseteste and the convent ofChrist
Church, Canterbury, is well known from the brief, dramatic,and not
entirely accurate account of Matthew Paris, and theletter written
by the bishop when he appealed to Rome againstthe sentence of
excommunication.1 These sources make plainthe cause of the dispute
: the attempt of the chapter of Canter-bury to exercise the
arcluepiscopal jurisdiction sedt vacante, andGrosseteste's refusal,
as a bishop, to obey any mandate issuedby monks. But Matthew Paris
in particular has obscured thelength of the struggle, and treats
Grosseteste's obstruction ofthe abbot of Bardney's appeal as the
beginning, not the chmax,of it. Hints in the annals of Dunstaple *
and in one of Grosse-teste's undated letters,3 suggesting that it
lasted for some monthsor even years, are very vague.
Recently Canon A. W. Goodman has brought to light a
letterwritten by the monks of Canterbury to the prior and chapterof
Winchester, justifying their excommunication of Grossetesteand
describing at length their grievances against him.4 Thetext of the
copy in the Winchester chartulary is slightly corrupt,but the
original letter sent to the dean and chapter of St. Paul'sstill
exists, and is now in the Public Record Office.5 I t is
1 Chron. Maj. (R.S.), iv. 245 seq. Epistolac Robtrli Grosseteste
(R.S.), no. 110.
See also F. S. Stevenson, Robert Grosseteste, pp. 155-00, 244.1
Arinales Monastics (R.S.), iii. 1601. ' Eodem anno [1242] orta est
dissentio
inter capitulum Cantuariense (vacante sede) et episcopos Angliae
super tuitione ap-pellationum. Quia dicebant monachi, ge habere
speciale privilegium, quod possintet debeant cognoscere super
appellationibos ad eas factis ab injustin gravaminibusepiscoporum.
Episcopi vero confoederati sunt contra eos per gcriptum, cui
appensasunt singulorum sigilla, volentes se defendere, et
excommunioaverunt monachiRobertum episoopum Lincolniae, et
episcopum Rofensem, qui super praemissis eisprimi restiterunt.'
3 The bishop of Lincoln, forbidding his chapter to appeal to
Canterbury, spoke of
friction with the monks as an evil to be expected : ' Quid enim
facient nobia Cantuari-enses monachi, nisi quod pro iustae causae
et utilitatis communis defensione, nos,modis quibus poterunt,
tribulabunt T ' Op. cit. p. 295.
* Summarized in the Chartulary of Winchester Cathedral, no. 254.
E. 136, 6/1. I am very grateful to Mr. W. P. Blore, who first drew
my attention
to the existence of the Winchester letter; and to Canon Goodman,
who allowed meto compare his transcript of it with the text of this
letter. The only differences arein small points of spelling avid
grammar.
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1942 EXCOMMUNICATION OF GR0SSETE8TE 245
transcribed here. Probably similar letters were sent to
everybishop or, in vacant sees, every chapter.1
The bias of the letter is obviouB, but beneath the rhetoricis a
coherent and fairly probable sequence of events.
FirstlyGrosseteste, without inviting the prior and chapter of
Canter-bury to be present, had summoned bishops to a council at
Londonand incited them to resist all innovations not made by
commonconsent. He had next forbidden his subjects to appeal
toCanterbury either for tuition or in any other way. When themonks
sent a letter of protest he had ordered the letter to bestamped
upon and the clerk who had brought it thrown out ofhis presence. He
had imprisoned a clerk bringing letters fromthe convent of
Canterbury on another matter. . He had invokedthe secular arm
against appellants to the Roman See and forthe tuition of
Canterbury, had forbidden anyone to make suchappeals and,
disregarding the sentence of suspension pronouncedby the monks, had
continued to administer the sacraments.He had ignored all citations
and so, after he had added the finalinsult by excommunicating the
abbot of Bardney, the priorand chapter of Christ Church had
pronounced him excommunicate.
Only some of these grievances were related by MatthewParis. He
gave the full history of the Bardney dispute, andtold, with
embellishments, the story of Grosseteste's indignantreception of a
letter from the monks, though he said that it wasthe letter .of
excommunication that received ignominious treat-ment at his hands.
But evidence that Grosseteste steadilyresisted appeals to the monks
and enlisted the support of othersuffragan bishops in his
resistance can be found in some of theletters written by the prior
and chapter of Canterbury duringthis vacancy.
Archbishop Edmund Rich died on 13 November 1240, andthe prior
and chapter of Christ Church began to exercise juris-diction almost
immediately.2 Grosseteste must have begun tooppose them in 1242, if
not before. In August 1242 they tookup an appeal from the prior and
convent of Great Malvern, whoconsidered themselves oppressed by the
bishop of Worcester.3In the draft of a letter dated 9 February 1243
they complainedthat this appeal had been obstructed ' per
impedimentumvenerabilis patris Lincoln[iensis] episcopi, cui deus
ignoscat,more suo consueto ' ; * and though a more prudent hand
crossedout 'more suo consueto ' and added ' as he has already
impeded
1 The sees of both London and Winchester were vacant at the
time.
I hope to deal more fully with the jurisdiction of the prior and
chapter sede vacaniein another place.
1 Canterbury, Dean and Chapter Muniments, Sede Vacante Book II,
pp. 200, 201.
Ibid. Sede Vacante Book III, p. 149.
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246 THE EXCOMMUNICATION OF April
other business of our church ', it seems plain that
Grosseteste'sresistance was well established at that time. Some
other suff-ragans stood by him ; on 13 March 1243 the prior and
ohapterwrote to Ralph Neville, bishop of Chichester, threatening
himwith suspension if he continued to impede the appeal of
Juliana,Avife of Richard de Grenested.1 The words they used
plainlyrefer to Grosseteste :
Quia vero quidam de ecclesie noatre suffraganeis sue professions
im-raemores et suis terminis non contenti sepe et publice per suaa
diocesesprohibuerunt ne aliquis subditorum suoruin in aliqua causa
Cant[uarienseni]ecclesiam appellet aut Cantfuariensi] capitulo sede
vacante obediat, quodBine [nota] scismatice pravitatis procedere
non potest, vobis in virtuteobediencie qua Cantuar[iensi] ecclesie
tenemini precipiendo mandamus nepredictam Julianam quominus coram
commissariis nostriB iusticiamconsequatur impediatis, vel ab
officiali vesfcro impediri sustineatis, quodsi feceritiB ex ipso
facto vos sciatis ab officio pontificali suspensos.
The undated draft of another letter exists, in which an un-named
bishop is forbidden to obstruct an appeal; * it may havebeen
addressed to the bishop of Lincoln, the bishop of Chichesteror the
bishop of Rochester, whose excommunication is recordedin the
Ihrnstaple annals.
These letters help us to fix the date of the obscure and
inter-esting assembly mentioned at the beginning of the letter
toGrosseteste. The ' congregatio nuper habita apud Londoniam 'may
have been an informal meeting of bishops brought togetherby
Grosseteste after they had already come to London foranother
purpose. This would give January 1242 as the mostprobable date,
since on 28 January Henry HI held a great councilto discuss the
granting of an aid.8 There had been an assemblyof ' discreet
ecclesiastical persons ' late in 1241, but it took placeat Oxford.*
The other possibility is that the bishops met inMay 1242 ; then,
the Tewkesbury Annalist records, the abbotof Tewkesbury ' adivit
episcopum Lincolniae apud Londoniamubi tune multi fuerunt episcopi
in unum congregati '. 5 Thismeeting, passed over by the other
chroniclers, may have beenconnected with the king's attempt to
collect money from religiousbodies and military tenants before he
sailed on 9 May.* Butit may possibly have been an assembly called
together by Grosse-teste to discuss resistance to the monks of
Christ Church.Certainly in the next vacancy the bishops met at
Reading under
1 Canterbury, Dean and Chapter Muniments, Sede Vacaote Book II,
p. 197.
Canterbury, Cartae Antiquae, M. 384, no. 19. Matthew Paris,
Chron. Maj. iv. 180, 186 segq. ; Stubbe, Constitutional History
(4th edn.), ii. 69. D. B. Weake, Convocation of the Cltrgy, p.
220. Annales Mcmastici, i. 122. S. K. Mitchell, Studies in Taxation
under John and Betiry III, p. 225.
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1942 GROSSETESTE IN 1243 247
the leadership of the bishop of Winchester, sub-dean of
theprovince, and opposed the monks' attempt to confirm
RobertWickhampton, bishop elect of Salisbury.1 Given a leader,
thesuffragans were capable of corporate action if they
consideredtheir privileges threatened ; no doubt when they resisted
Arch-bishop Pecham in 1282 2 they profited from the experience
theyhad gained when conspiring against the chapter of Christ
Church.In 1242 they had a leader in Robert Grosseteste.
Actually,the support given to his defiance was not unanimous. We
haveevidence that the bishops of Rochester, Chichester, and
possiblyWorcester followed his example in obstructing appeals to
Canter-bury. But many appeals from other dioceses were heard
bydelegates of the prior and chapter of Christ Church
withoutapparent opposition.3
The affairs discussed in this assembly are as obscure as thedate
and means of summoning it. The decision that ' if any-thing
touching the common state of the church of the kingdomwere exacted
it should be granted only by consent of all thesuffragans of
Canterbury ' may have been aimed at far morethan the claims of the
Canterbury monks ; possibly even atsecular claims. But in any case
the prior and chapter naturallyfelt slighted at not being summoned
as representatives of themater ecclesia, and they justified their
claim to be included bythe common catchword quod omnes tangit. . .
.
Grosseteste's dispute with the chapter of Canterbury wasnot
settled during this vacancy. Henry III and Innocent IV,when
appealed to, demanded that the sentences of excommunica-tion should
be relaxed without prejudice to either party ; HenryIII declared
his intention of holding a council to discuss thematter on his
return from Gascony, but never fulfilled it.4 On26 May 1244 a papal
indult was issued protecting Grossetestefrom excommunication,5 and
the cause of the dispute disappearedfor a time when Boniface of
Savoy was consecrated archbishopin 1245. MARJORIE M. MORGAN.
PUBLIC EECORD OFFICE, E.135, 6/1Viris venerabilibus et amicis in
Christo specialiter dilectis decano et
capitulo Sancti Pauli London' R.8 prior et capitulum ecclesie
ChristiCantuariensis salutem in domino sempiternam. Litteras
nostras Lin-colnensi episcopo direximus sub hac forma :
R. prior et capitulum ecclesie Christi Cantuariensis R.
Lincolnensiepiscopo spiritum consilii sanioiis. Utinam spiiitus'
mansuetudinis et
1 Hist. MSS. Com. Beport XIV, part viii, p. 195.
1 Reg. Episl. Joh. Peckham (B.S.), i. 328 seqq.
3 Canterbury, Sede Vacante Books, passim.
4 Cal. Pap. Letters, i. 204 ; Close Rolls, 1242-7, pp. 65-7.
s Cal. Pap. Letters, i. 209. 6 Roger de la Lee. ' MS.
spirito.
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248 THE EXCOMMUNICATION OF April
pacis quern ad vos gerimus in domino et gessimus usque modo
spiritumrebellionis et litis quem ad nos per contrarium geritis et
gessistis per vir-tutem boni et recti obediencie exsufflasset
omnino ; sperabamus enimexpectantes in omni patiencia quod longiora
tempora et citaciones multi-plices, admoniciones et exhortaciones
frequentes quas vobis fecimus desatisfaciendo nobis super multis
iniuriis, contemptibus et inobedienciis avobis nobis frequenter et
multum illatis utcumque animum vestrum adpacem nobiscum et honorem
nobis debitum exhibendum in omni modestiaemollirent; set ut videmus
animus obstinatus magis ac magis percutiturcum eidem parcitur, ac
tanto nequior redditur quanto plus iusto propterbonum mansuetudinis
sibi faveri conspicit, quia superbia semper ascendit,quare
huiusmodi animus nee correctionem recipit nee salutem. Sanequamvis
ea que a vobis commissa sunt contra nos in propatulo sint feretoti
regno, nee vos sic commiseritis quod commissa vestra
volueritislatuisse,nos ea cogimur puplice scribere ut puplica
procedat sentencia inpuplice delinquentem. Occurit siquidem primum
contra vos quod voscum quibusdam suffraganeis nostris in
congregatione nuper habitaapud Londoniam nobis penitus inconsultis
nee vocatis, set potiusspretis, ordinastis contra iuris ordinem in
contemptum nostrum et primatusecclesie nostre quod si aliquid
inconsuetum exigatur quod tangat com-munem statum ecclesie regni
non concedatur nisi de consensu omniumnostrum suffraganeorum
ecclesie Cahtuariensis, ad quod ordinandum etsi1non tamquam priores
et superiores [saltern] 2 sine contemptu fueramuscum aliis
ecclesiis regni pariter evocandi,3 ut quod omnes communitertangeret
ab omnibus approbari deberet; ordinastis insuper quod nullusvestrum
aut subditorum vestrorum in aliquo casu vel aliqua causa, nee
perappellationem directam factam ad nos a subditis vestris contra
vos suf-fraganeos, nee pro tuitione appellationum factarum ad sedem
apostolicamad nos confugeret,4 nee alias modo quolibet,
quantumcumque iusto etlicito, nobis in aliqua pareretur; ac etiam
quedam alia in nostrum gravepreiudicium et gravamen. Et quamvis
huiusmodi dicta iniuriosa proamore quem ad vos gerebamus utcumque
tollerare possemus, cum multatamen verecundia vestra facta deinde
vestra enormia et intollerabiliasustinere nee possumus nee debemus,
cum talis sustinencia et negligenciamnostram penitus accusaret, et
penam ex eo quod non apponeremus nosmurum pro honore debito
primatui ecclesie nostre, ad quem modis omnibusdefendendum per
professionem nostram sumus districtius astricti infligeretex merito
graviorem, parum namque videbatur vobis iniurias edixisse, setquod
dolentes referrimus, nisi facta superadderetis per celeris 5
evidentiamgraviora. Sane cum venerabiles viri decanus et capitulum
Lincolnenseper Philippum diaconum Lincolnensis ecclesie clericum
nostras litterasvobis duxerint transmittendas, lectis litteris in
vestra presencia, depositaepiscopali modestia, confusa et impetuosa
voce predictum diaconumviolenter eici de curia vestra mandastis,
quem vestri satellites ad mandatumvestrum statim manibus in ipsum
violenter seu temerarie iniectis trahentes
1 MS. et si.
2 Supplied from the Winchester MS.
3 Mr. Blore kindly informs me that, except for the inclusion of
' saltern ', the wording
of this clause is the same in the Winchester copy.1 JUS:
confugerent. 6
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1942 GROSSETESTE IN 1243 24'J
eum graviter eiecerunt; litteras insuper nostras et sigillum
quod repre-sentat Cantuariensem ecclesiam ac martirium beati Thome
martiris proutpossibile est in figura in terrain proici mandastis,
et ruptum sigillumfrustatim et litteras turpiter pedibus
conculcari. Secundum autem simileest huic quod quemdam x clericum
deferentem ad vos litteras nostras proquodam paupere presbitero
capi et incarcerari fecistis. Tercio occuritquod appellantes ad
sedem apostolicani et pro tuitione appellationis adCantuariensem
ecclesiam ut moris est fugientes, spretis nostris prohibi-tionibus
per brachium seculare, abiecta penitus reverencia sedis
apostoliceet professione vestra qua tenemini ecclesie Cantuariensi,
capi et incarcerarifecistis, ut sic ab appellationibus
quantumcumque iustis desisterent, etcausas suas coactione crudeli,
contra statuta sanctorum patrum, queomnimodam appellantibus
concedunt libertatem prosequendi, relinquerentindefensas. Quid
plura ? Quartum contra vos se effert gravius, quodnon sine nota
scismatice pravitatis non solum nitimini vos membrum acapite
discedere, sed caput ipsum a membris universis per vicium
scismatishorribiliter et intolerabiltei; detruncare, cum vobis
facientibus primamimmo precipuam audaciam suffraganeis aliis
prebentibus de vanitate in idipsum pariter convenistis, ut iam
frequenter et sepe puplice prohibueritissub pena anathematis ne
quis subiectorum nostrorum in aliquo casu velpro aliqua causa
ecclesiam Cantuariensem adeat, seu in aliquo obediateidem, puplice
astruentes et male quod prior et capitulum Cantuariensenullam
omnino iurisdictionem optinent, nee vos eis in aliquo
teneminiobedire; cum de forma professionis sit, quod primo
profitemini ecclesiequod exprimit et importat capitulum cathedrale,
deinde archiepiscoponominatim, que forma innuit quod capitulum esse
non desinit, quare essenon desinit professio sibi facta, set
persona singularis nominata habetdesinere esse, quo desinente esse,
desinit obediencia sibi promissa. Neemirandum si vobis ulterius non
deferrimus, quia vos moniti et citati anobis semel, secundo et
tercio ac etiam quarto ut super iniuriis, contempti-bus et
inobedienciis iam vobis pluries in nostris litteris expressis
satisfacerestuderetis, nullatinus paruistis, sed, quod periculosius
est, suspensionem anobis in vos latam propter manifestissimas
contumacias et offensas nonsine scandalo ecclesiastice discipline
et contra salutem propriam neglexistisomnino, ingerentes vos
divinis officiis ac eadem ministrantes contra formamsentencie que
vos ecclesie privaverat ab ingressu, que res nos magis com-movet ad
vindictam quia ferro abscidenda sunt vulnera que fomenta
nonsentiunt, et minori pena contempta graviorem infligi" lege
cavetur; etnovit deus qui cordium scrutator est et cognitor
secretorum quod nee vosnee aliquem alium zelo indignationis aut
vindicte alicuius prosequimur, sedobedienciam et honorem nobis
debitum tamquam matri ecclesie quantum.in nobis est in omni
caritate prosequimur, attendentes quod sive plectendosive
ignoscendo hoc solum bene agitur ut rebellio de tipo superbie
assumptausque ad conqiiassacionem pena multiplici compescatur. Inde
est quodcum citati a nobis peremptorie iam quinto ad diem lune
proximo preteritampost festum Sancti Marci ut super omnibus
offensis et iniuriis nobis illatissatisfeceretis, quia venire vel
mittere contempsistis, offensas offensis,contemptus contemptibus,
iniurias iniuriis nobis puplice accumulando,
1 MS. quendam.
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250 SOME UNEXPLORED RECORDS OF April
presertim nunc ultimo in personis venerabilium virorum abbatis
et con-ventus de Bardenay, quos eo ipso quod pro tuitione
appellacionis sue adsedem apostolicam facte propter gravamina a
vobis contra iusticiam eisirrogata appellarunt, et coram nobis
sufficienter probata, excommunicastisde facto et excommunicatos *
denunciastis, cum iam longo tempore nontimueritis suspensionis
sententiam sustinere, vos auctoritate sancte Can-tuariensis
ecclesie puplice excommunicavimus et excommunicatum
penitusnunciamus, et precipimus sub eadem pena vos ab omnibus aliis
arciusevitari; quod facimus quia aliter facere non possumus ex
indicta nobisnecessitate et inevitabili qua surnus omnimodo
astricti ad prosequendumius, honorem debitum et obedienciam debitam
tarn contra vos quamcontra quemlibet alium extollentem se adversus
sanctam matrem nostramecclesiam Cantuariensem, ne incidamus in
penam negligentibus debitam acetiam in illam terribilem sententiam
ewangelicam quam dicit dominusvinee malis agricolis: Malos male
perdam, et vineam meam locabo aliisagricolis qui reddant fructum
temporibus suis. Sic etiam, quod dominusavertat, a summo pontifice
nobis dici posset, qui est inmediate dominus etordinarius noster.
Vacante ecclesia archiepiscopali2 cum vacante ecclesiaBomana ad
retinendum et defendendum primatum ecclesie nostre fortiuset
districtius astringamur; "
Vos igitur qui Cantuariensi ecclesie immediate estis subiecti3
mandamusquatinus diligenter advertentes quam periculosum sit pro
vicio scismaticepravitatis excommunicato communicare predictum
Lincolnensem episco-pum in aliqua Christiana communione de cetero
non suscipiatis, donee arebellione quam contra Cantuariensem
ecclesiam incepit omnino desistat,et subiectionem quam in
consecratione sua promisit humiliter recognoscat.Hoc etiam ab
universis et singulis ecclesie nostre suffraganeis sub
perpetuoanathemate per litteras nostras patentes
precipimus-observari, vos attenciusrogantes et exhortantes in
domino Ihesu et in fide qua tenemini ecclesieCantuariensi ut
prolixitatem litterarum nostrarum tedio quolibet amotosuscipere
dignemini, et auribus percipere, quia non teduit
excommunicatumadversarium nobis inflixere dictis et factis offensas
et inobediencias proutpotuit nee decuit tediosas. Has autem
litteras nostras patentes in ecclesiavestra precipimus
diligentissime custodiri. Valete. Datum Cantuarieanno domini m. cc.
xl. tercio, in crastino apostolorum Philippi et Jacobi.4
[Endorsed in a thirteenth-century hand.]Decano et capitulo
Londoniensi. . . .Capitulo Sancti Pauli London' [capitulum]
Cantuariense. . . . ,
[Fragment of seal on single tag.]
Some Unexplored Records of the Enclosure MovementSEVEBAI* of the
most interesting problems connected with theenclosure movement of
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuriescannot be satisfactorily
dealt with by reason of the lack of avail-
1 MS. excommunicastos. 2 MS. archiepiscopo.
8 MS. subiecta. 2 May 1243.
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