Walter Reynolds to William Whittesley
51. WALTER REYNOLDS, or REGINALD, as his
name is sometimes written, bishop of Worcester, was
accordingly translated from that see to this archbishopric in 1313. He was the son of a tradesman at
Windsor, and became chaplain to king Edward I.
and afterwards, though a man of mean learning, was
appointed preceptor to his son, afterwards king Edward II. His first preferments in the church were, a
prebend of St. Paul's, London, and the rectory of
Wimbledon, to which he was instituted in 1298, and
quitted it in 1308, on his promotion to the bishopric
of Worcester, at the king's request. Being bred a
courtier, he was more distinguished for his politeness,
than his integrity; indeed, had he lived in times in
which he had been less tried, he might have died with
a fairer character.
Upon king Edward II.'s accession to the throne,
he became his singular favourite, and he appointed
him his treasurer and chancellor; (fn. 1) but the archbishop, under cover of a mild and courteous disposition,
sheltered a mean and abject spirit, which became notorious in his want of courage, constancy and sidelity, at the time when the king, his great benefactor,
fell under distress, when he shewed himself not only
defective in duty, but was guilty of the greatest perfidy to him.
To the convent of Christ-church, the archbishop
was a good benefactor, by appropriating to them at
their request, the manor of Caldicot, and the wood of
Thorolt, near Canterbury, which had been long in
the possession of the archbishops, for the use of their
table. To the nuns of Davington, who, as Harps
field thinks, were French women, he gave and prefcribed rules and ordinances in the French tongue,
for their more easy understanding; and he amerced
the abbot of St. Bertin's, at St. Omer's, for leasing
out, without his privity, the fruits of the parsonage
of Chilham, which belonged to the priory of Throwleigh, a cell to that abbey; and he was a good bene.
factor to the hospital at Maidstone, of his predecessor
Boniface's foundation, and likewise to Langdon abbey
in this county. (fn. 2)
He crowned king Edward III. on the Sunday after
the conversion of St. Paul, anno 1326, in the church
of St. Peter, at Westminster, before the high altar, in
the presence of the bishops, earls, and great men of
the realm. (fn. 3)
After having sat as archbishop for near fourteen
years, he died on November 16, 1327, at Mortlake,
as Weever says, of grief and anger, at the pope's behaviour to him, and was buried in his own cathedral,
the bishops of Winchester and Rochester attending
the ceremony, in the south wall of it, under a window, beside the choir, where his tomb, having his
effigies, habited in his pontificals lying at full length
on it, is still extant. Weever has recorded his inscription, as follows, which was very difficult to be read in
his time. Hic requiescit dominus WALTERUS REYNOLDS prius episcopus Wigorniensis & Anglieæ cancellarius, deinde arcbiepiscopus istius ecclesie qui obiit 16 die
mensis Novembris, ann gratie 1327.
There are two seals of this archbishop among the
Chartæ Antiquæ, in the treasury of the dean and chapter, appendant to them, ovals, the archbishop standing mitred, robed, pall, blessing, holding a crozier in
left hand; on each side two symbols of the evangelists, and a coat of arms, one England, the other the
see of Canterbury, impaling the archbishop's own
coat; legend, WALTERUS DEI GRA CANTUAR ARCHIEP TOTIUS ANGLIÆ PRIMAS. No counterseal.
c. 130—132. He bore for his arms—Azure, on a
cross, or, five lions rampant, gules; in the first quarter,
a beast winged passant, with a human face; in the second, a dove crowned, volant; in the third, a saint kneeling, a glory round his head; in the fourth, a bull winged
passant, all four, or.
52. SIMON MEPHAM, S. T. P. was next chosen
archbishop in 1327, by the free election of the convent, with the king's consent, who solicited the pope
in his behalf, stiling him canon of Chichester, S. T. P.
and archbishop elect of Canterbury, and wrote to him
again for that purpose, on April 20, anno 1328, and
in the 2d year of his reign, on the same account again,
and having heard that the pope had made some objections to his confirmation, and that he designed to
put in one, by his bull of provision, he intreated him
in that case to place Henry, bishop of Lincoln, in this
see; (fn. 4) but the pope, by means of a good present, consented, and Mepham was confirmed and consecrated
at Rome, by him. (fn. 5) Simon Mepham was a native of
the parish of the same name, in the county of Kent,
and was educated at Merton college, in Oxford,
where he proceeded S.T.P. and became fellow of it; (fn. 6)
he afterwards was promoted to a prebend of Landaff,
to the like of Chichester, and of St. Paul's, London,
and he was rector of Tunstall, in Kent.
He, soon after his return to England, held a provincial council in 1331, in which a rubric of the principal holidays was settled, and the manner of the observance of them. In the same year he began a metropolitical visitation, and made a progrels through
the southern dioceses, without opposition; but when
he drew near the west, the bishop of Exeter appealed,
not withstanding the archbishop going forward to that
city, was not permitted to enter either the church or
the precincts of it, but was opposed by a multitude of
persons armed. (fn. 7)
Between this archbishop and the monks of St. Augustine's, there was a great and long controversy,
which is related at large by Thorn, in his chronicle.
In this cause the monks succeeded, and the archbishop was condemed by Icherius, whom the pope had
delegated to hear it, in 1210l. to be paid to that monastery for costs of suit; but he would not submit to
this judgment, and was therefore pronounced contumacious, upon which he retired to Mortlake in great
solitude, being the last archbishop who resided there,
and he died under sentence of excommunication, nor
could he be buried till the abbot of St. Augustine's
had absolved him. His next successor, however,
caused this judgment to be reversed. (fn. 8)
Having sat in this see five years, four months and
seventeen days, with small comfort during the whole
time of it, he fell sick from the continual vexations
and troubles he had been involved in, and died at his
palace of Mayfield, on February 11, 1333, (fn. 9) and his
body being conveyed to Canterbury, was laid in his
own cathedral, the bishop of Rochester performing
his obsequies, under a tomb of black marble, on the
north side of St. Anselm's chapel, where it still re
mains. (fn. 10) He made one Laurence Falstaff his executor, who gave to the convent of Christ-church, 50l.
to purchase forty shillings annually, to celebrate his
anniversary.
Archbishop Mepham was accounted well learned,
as learning went in those times; he is said to have
rebuilt the church of Mepham, in which parish he
was born, as before-mentioned. His coat of arms
was, Argent, on a cross, azure, the letter [M], or, crowned
of the same.
53. JOHN STRATFORD, LL. D. so called from the
place of his birth, was next elected archbishop in the
year 1333. He was educated at Oxford, where he
commenced doctor of both laws, and was afterwards
preferred to a prebend in the church of York, and to
the archdeaconry and a prebend of Lincoln; after
which he was nominated to the bishopric of Winchester, but the pope intending to fill that see with one of
his own appointment, consented to the king's nomination of an archbishop; upon which the king recommended Stratford to the convent for their choice,
which they complied with; however, the pope, to
keep up his authority, cassated the election, and then
appointed him, by his bull of provision, to this see, (fn. 11)
but it was not till after tedious suits and great charges
in his attendance at the court of Rome. On the
death of king Edward II. in 1327, the Spencers and
others being brought to punishment, an inquisition
was made concerning him, as to what could be laid
to his charge; but nothing appeared against him, it
was only noted, that when that king was forsaken and
betrayed, as it were by his other counsellors, John
Stratford continued faithful and constant to him.—This generous honesty, so far from turning to his disadvantage, that it gained him the favour of king Edward III. and his queen, (fn. 12) insomuch, that at the time
when the king passed with his army into Flanders, he
appointed the archbishop to be his sole justiciary, and
committed to him the whole care and government of
this kingdom during his absence. He had long had
this king's, as well as his father's, esteem and confidence; whilst bishop of Winchester, in the 12th year
of the former reign of king Edward II. he was appointed treasurer, and in this reign, whilst in the same
see, he had in the fourth year of it, the great seal delivered to him; two years after which, being employed
in the king's business, his brother Robert de Stratford
had the custody of the seal on that account. Being
archbishop elect of Canterbury, he was on April 6,
8 Edward III. anno 1335, confirmed chancellor; on
June 6, next year, he had the great seal delivered to
him and on April 28, 1341, he was again made chancellor and keeper of the great seal. (fn. 13) At length, by the
evil suggestions of some about the king, he fell under
his heavy displeasure, and received harsh treatment
from him; (fn. 14) but he vindicated his own innocency so
clearly and fully, that he was not only admitted again
to the king's favour, but likewise of his privy council, and the king afterwards ever esteemed him to be
what he really was, a man of singular prudence and
intergrity. (fn. 15)
The archbishop was a man of learning, in the civil
law especially, and was no less a faithful than an able
servant of the crown. His disinterestedness in his state
employment was almost unparalleled; he crossed the
channel two and thirty times, in the public service,
besides several journeys towards Scotland, whilst he
was bishop, for all which he never received more than
300l. out of the king's exchequer; and he is recorded
to have been an able politician, a disinterested patriot, and an excellent metropolitan. He was exceeding liberal in deeds of alms and charity; multitudes were fed daily with the remains of his table;
and he relieved, for the most part with his own hands,
thirteen poor people, three times a day; besides which
he built a fine college at Stratford-upon-Avon, the
place of his birth, which he amply endowed; and he
had the character of being very gentle and merciful,
rather too remiss than any ways rigorous against ofsenders, and one of great pity to the poor and needy.
In the former part of his life, he met with many undeserved crosses and severe treatment, but at the latter
end he enjoyed, for a few years, much quiet and tranquility.
By his will, he bequeathed to his church his most
costly cope, his mitre, two books of the canon law,
and a yearly pension of 100s. out of the churches of
Preston and Boughton, which he appropriated to the
abbey of Faversham. Having sat as archbishop for
about fifteen years, he fell ill at Maidstone, and being
carried to Mayfield, in Susffex, he died there, and was
buried in this cathedral, on the south side of the high
altar, beside the choir, near where the steps of St.
Dunstan's altar formerly was, under a tomb of alabaster, having his effigies in his pontifical habit, lying
at full length on it, but without any inscription.
Among the Harleian manuscripts are several letters, between him and the abbot of St. Augustine's;
his treatise, entitled, Commentarius de Deo; and there
is a provincial letter of his, among the Bodleian manuscripts.
Among the Chartæ Antiquæ, in the treasury of the
dean and chapter, appendant to them are three seals
of this archbishop, one an oval, 3¼ by 2 diam. being
the archbishop standing mitred, robed, pall, blessing;
a cross in his left hand; on one side a bishop's head;
on the other a sword and key crossed; legend, 3. JOHANIS DEI GRE CANTUARIENSIS ARCHIEPI TOCIUS
ANGLIE PRIMATIS. Counterseal, Becket's murder;
legend, CHRISTO TRANSLATUM PRECIBUS FAC THOMA BEATUM. A 184. another very fine and fair, the
same as above, no counterseal; the third two inches
by 1 and 1/2 diam. seal the same as above; counterseal,
Becket's murder, a figure holding up a small cross,
above three niches, 1st and 3d, angels kneeling; in
the centre one, God the Father, hands uplisted; legend, CHRISTO TRANSLATUM PRECIBUS FAC THOME
BEATUM. z. 72.
The archbishop bore for his arms, Per fess, gules
and sable, three plates, or, according to archbishop
Parker and others, Argent, a fess, gules, between three
bezants.
Upon the death of John Stratford, the prior and
convent elected Thomas Bradwardin, but the pope,
by title of his bull of provision, filled the chair with
John Ufford.
54. JOHN UFFORD, LL. D. chancellor of England, was elected archbishop in 1348. He was brother to Robert de Ufford, earl of Suffolk, (fn. 16) and was
educated at Cambridge, where he took his degree of
doctor of both laws, after which, he was preferred to
a prebend of Wells, and to be dean of Lincoln, and
lastly, lord chancellor of England, which last office he
held when he was promoted to this archbishopric, in
which he sat only six months and four days, for being
a sickly, weak man, and much afflicted with the palsy,
he died before he was either consecrated or confirmed,
on July 18, 1349, in the time of the great plague,
which, as Walsingham writes, destroyed nine parts of
the men throughout England, and his body being
brought to Canterbury, without any pomp or solemnity, was there secretly buried in the middle of the
night, in the cathedral, by the north wall in the martyrdom, beside the wall of St. Thomas Becket. He
does not seem to have had any monument erected for
him, though that remaining there now, besides Warham's tomb, and allowed by most to be that of archbishop Peckham, has been by some conjectured to
have been erected for archbishop Ufford, (fn. 17) whose
gravestone is still to be seen on the pavement, in
the martyrdom, though it has for a long time been
robbed of its brasses.
Archbishop Ufford is said to have died intestate,
and that his brother Andrew Ufford, archdeacon of
Middlesex, was sued for dilapidations by archbishop
Islip, his next successor but one, to the value of
1101l. and upwards, which he was sentenced to pay,
notwithstanding Ufford was archbishop so short a
time. Thus Parker, in his Antiquities of the British
Church. In one of the registers of this church, there
is a commission given by this prior and chapter to
John Leech, canon of the church of Sarum, dated
June 11, 1349, to prove the last will and testament
of John Ufford, late archbishop, and to deliver a copy
of it before the feast of St. John Baptist; but there is
no such will registered, which probably would have
been, had there been any such. (fn. 18)
These great dilapidations most probably arose from
the unfinished state in which he had left the palace
at Maidstone, which he had begun to rebuild, but
died before he had done hardly any thing to the finishing of it. (fn. 19) The archbishop bore for his arms, Sable, a
cross engrailed, or. (fn. 20)
55. THOMAS BRADWARDIN, S. T. P. after this
see had been vacant for two months and three days,
was elected a second time in 1349, by the convent; (fn. 21)
but the pope taking no notice of his election, constituted him archbishop by his papal power. (fn. 22) He was
born at Heathfield, in Sussex, and was educated at
Merton college, in Oxford, of which he became fellow, and commenced there S. T. P. and had afterwards a prebend of Lincoln conferred on him. He
was the most famous divine and theologist of his time,
on which account he was named by the pope, doctor
profundus; he was in every respect a good and pious
man, and had been rcommended by archbishop Stratford to the king, as a man well qualified to be his sucsessor. He was the king's confessor, in which office
he reproved the king with a becoming freedom, whenever he saw occasion for it, and as such, he attended the
king, both at home and abroad likewise, in all his
wars, and yet never made a petition for reward or preferment; and when the king restored the temporalities
to him, he saluted him by the name of father.
The fatigue of his journey to Rome for his confirmation and consecration was so great, that he fell ill of
a fever, of which he died soon after his return to England, (fn. 23) at a house of the bishop of Rochester, at Lambeth, on December 18, 1349, within five weeks and
four days after his consecration, having never been inthronized, and was buried in this cathedral, in St. Anselm's chapel, by the south wall. (fn. 24) Weever has recorded this inscription for him:
Doctor doctorum BRADWARDIN hac jacet urna,
Norma pastorum laudabilis & diuturna.
Qui invidia caruit vitam sine crimine duxit,
Et ex ore suo quicquid sit scibile fluxit.
Nullus sub sole est cui sic fuere omnia nota.
Cantia nunc dole, tristeris & Anglia tota.
Vos qui & transitis, hic omnes atque reditis,
Dicitc quod CHRISTI pietas sit promptior isti.
He was besides being so exquisite a divine, a good
mathematician, a great philosopher, and a general
scholar in all liberal sciences, as his writings, which
are extant, shew; (fn. 25) but above all, he was commended
for his uprightness and sincerity of life and conversation. He bore for his arms, Barry of six, sable and ermine, six guttees de larmes, or, according to archbishop
Parker, Barry of six, ermines and ermine.
56. SIMON ISLIP, LL. D. was next constituted
archbishop in 1349, and as it is said, by the monks
election, the pope's approbation, and the king's good
liking; but he was consecrated by virtue of a bull from
the pope.
He is said to have taken his name from the place of
his birth at Islip, in Oxfordshire, (fn. 26) and to have been
educated at Merton college, in Oxford, of which he
became fellow, and where he took his degree of doctor of canon law. He afterwards held the two prebends
of Welton, in the church of Lincoln, to the bishop of
which he was vicar-general and official, and was preferred to the archdeaconry of Stow. When he was
constituted archbishop of this see in 1349, he was then
canon of St. Paul's church, in London, dean of the
arches, privy counsellor, secretary and keeper of the
privy seal to king Edward III. which offices he administered so well, that he became gracious to the king,
which induced the monks to chuse him archbishop. (fn. 27)
When he first came to the see, there was a great
mortality, by the raging of the plague, as Harpsfield
notes from Walsingham, with this comment on it;
when, says he, the fields lay untilled, waste and deserted, by reason of this mortality of men and cattle,
and the owners were disappointed of receiving their
accustomed rents, being forced not only to remit somewhat of the usual pension which was wont to be paid,
but even to hire out to husbandmen their fields ready
furnished, with all manner of husbandry furniture. —He was strict and severe, even to extremity, upon the
clergy in his visitations; he obtained a bull for the
pope to levy a tax upon the clergy of his province,
after the rate of four-pence in the marc, towards his
support; but he went beyond his commission, and extorted from the clergy of his diocese, a whole tenth.
He founded and endowed about the year 1363, Canterbury college, in Oxford, of which a full account
has already been given. He restored and annexed to
his convent, for the use of the almnery, the parsonages
of Monkton and Eastry, which archbishop Baldwin
had taken from it, and with his consent Buckland parsonage was appropriated to the priory of Dover, and
the parsonage of Bilsington to the priory there; to recover the impoverishment of his see, he lived frugally
all his life, and when he was inthronized, he dined privately, and spared the expences of that usual great
feast. (fn. 28)
The archiepiscopal palace at Maidstone having been
left unfinished by archbishop Ufford, he took it in
hand, and for this purpose pulled down the antient palace at Wrotham; and though he recovered from the
administrators of archbishop Ufford to the amount of
1101l. for dilapidations, most part of which was probably on account of the unfinished state of the above
house, yet his not finding that sum sufficient, was, in
all likelihood, one of the causes of his levying the tenth
on his clergy, as above mentioned.
Having sat as archbishop for the space of sixteen
years and upwards, he died at Mayfield, in Sussex,
April 26, 1366. (fn. 29) By his will he bequeathed to the
convent of Christ church, 1000 sheep, to be kept as a
perpetual stock; six dozen of silver plates, and as many
silver salt sellers; four silver basons, with their ewers,
&c. his vestments which were all of cloth of gold, and
a very sumptuous cope.
Having ordered his funeral to be as private as possible, and with as little expence as might be contrived, he
was buried at midnight, in the middle, near the upper
end of the nave of the cathedral; on the rebuilding of
which his tomb, which was a handsome one of marble,
having on it his figure and inscription, inlaid with
brass, was removed and placed between the two pillars,
opposite to it on the north side of the new nave, where
it remained till it was taken away, on the making of the
new pavement, a few years ago. (fn. 30)
Weever has preferved the infcription, on the verge
of this tomb, the braffes on which had been torn away
many years agon.
SIMON ISLIP oricns, vir bina lege probatus,
Ut nascens, moriens sic nunc jacet arcte locatus,
Arcem qui tenuit hic quondam pontisicatus,
Clero quique fuit regno toti quoque gratus.
Princeps pastorum fac SIMON apostolorum,
SIMON ut iste chorum per eos pertingat eoruin
Mil. trecenteno, sexageno modo seno
Ejus septeno pastoratus quoque deno
Hic kal. Maii seno rupto carnis nece freno:
Flos cadit a feno celo peto qui sit ameno
O spes sanctorum decus & pie CHRISTE tuorum,
Cetibus ipsorum prece jungas hunc precor horum.
Archbishop Islip wrote a treatise, entitled, Speculum
Regis Edwardi 3tii, which is among the Harleian manuscripts.
Among the Chartæ Antiquæ of the dean and chapter,
in their treasury, are two seals of this archbishop, 3
inches by 2 diam. having on them a fine representation
of Becket's murder, before the altar; underneath is
archbishop Islip, in a nich, praying; the legend not
fair enough to be read; no counterseals. Q. 165,
Z. 49. He bore for his arms, Gules, a cross, formee, or.
57. SIMON LANGHAM, bishop of Ely, was translated from that see on November 4, 1366, to this archiepiscopal chair of Canterbury. He had been first a
monk, then prior, and lastly, abbot of Westminster,
from which office he was elected to the see of London,
but before his consecration he was, in 1361, translated
to that of Ely, with which he held several preferments
in commendam, among which was the archdeaconry and
treasurership of Wells. On his being translated to Canterbury, it is said by an author (fn. 31) to have been a cause
of as much joy to Ely, as it was of grief to Canterbury;
but what gave occasion to this severe censure is not
known, as he does not appear to have deserved it.
He had been lord treasurer, and in 1363 was made
lord chancellor of England, (fn. 32) at which time it is observed, that all the great and public offices of state were
usually held by the clergy. In 1368 the archbishop
was created a cardinal presbiter of the church of Rome,
by the title of Sti Sixti, (fn. 33) upon which he resigned his
archbishopric, (fn. 34) and went to Rome; of which he is
said to have repented afterwards, (fn. 35) and to have tried to
be reinstated in it again; in which, however, he did
not succeed, as will be further mentioned hereafter.
He died at Avignon on July 22, 1376, where he
had lived in great estimation about eight years, being
suddenly taken with the palsy, as he sat at dinner, and
was first buried there in the church of the Carthusians,
which he had founded; from which his body was, three
years afterwards removed, by his own appointment
whilst he was alive, to Westminster, and buried in the
abbey church there, (fn. 36) to which he had been, whilst abbot
of it, wonderfully bountiful, (fn. 37) close to the north side
of the choir, where he lies under a handsome tomb of
alabaster, having his effigies, lying at full length on it,
habited in his pontificals, and this inscription round the
verge of it: Hic jacet dom. SIMON DE LANGHAM
quondam abbas hujus loci thesaur arius anglie, electus London, episcopus Elien. Cancellarius anglie, archiepiscopus Cantuar. presbyter cardinalis & postea episcopus
cardinalis.
SIMON de LANGHAM sub petris hijs tumulatus,
Istius ecclesie monachus fuerat, prior, abbas;
Sede vacante fuit electus Londoniensis
Presul, et insignis Ely, sed postea primas
Totius regni, magnus regisque minister:
Nam thesaurarius, et cancellarius ejus,
Ac cardinalis in Roma presbyter iste.
Postque Prenestinus est factus episcopus, atque,
Nuncius ex parte pape transmittitur istuc.
Orbe dolente pater, quem nunc revocare nequimus
MACDALENE festo, milleno septuageno,
Et ter centeno sexto CHRIST ruit anno.
Hunc DEUS absoluat de cunctis que male gessit,
Et meritis matris sibi celica gaudia donet.
As to his character, he is said to have been a very
great and wise man, of a noble appearance, capable of
filling with a good grace the several places he held in
church and state. He was, whilst chancellor, esteemed
a good speaker, and it was in a very critical juncture of
affairs when he steered the helm. As to church matters, he is said to have managed them with the highest
commendation, except, that being a Benedictine monk,
he was too much bigotted to his own order; as to his
turning the seculars out of Canterbury college, contrary to the will of the founder, and placing regulars in
their room, it certainly was an action by no means justisiable; but it raised a spirit in that body of learned
men, with Wickliffe at their head, and indeed of the
best part of the university, to speak more openly of
the insufferable oppressions of the prelacy, and to inveigh vigorously against the orders of regulars. These
invectives, as they began largely to convulse the state
at that time, so in their effect they shook the papal
power so considerably, that it never rightly recovered
even to the time it ceased totally within the realm.
As to his private character, he is said to have been
affable, humble, temperate, and very munisicent, and
therefore the satirical reflection, above-mentioned.
seems to have been the produce of some personal, and
perhaps single discontent; and who does not know
how often a very trifle, repeated by rote and handed
about, will stigmatize the best of characters. That this
was his case, appears from the regard those of both
his cathedrals had for him; the monk of Ely calls him
a discreet and provident pastor, and says, that his memory should ever be remembered among the blessed
bishops; and the value those of Canterbury had for
him, appears by their readiness to elect him a second
time; and the reason they gave the pope for it, that
having lately presided as their pastor, he had been very
kind and beneficent to their church; facts which must
annihilate every malicious stigma, so wantonly spread
abroad to depreciate the character of this great and
munificent prelate.
There is a seal of this archbishop appendant to one
of the Chartæ Antiquæ, in the treasury of the dean and
chapter; it is very fair and fine, having the archbishop
mitred, robed, pall, blessing, a crozier in his left hand;
the legend, … CARDINALIS ARCHIEPI TOCIUS
ANGLIÆ PRIMAS; on his right hand, the arms of
England; on the left, the fee of Canteroury E. 56.—The archbishop bore for his arms, Or, a chevron embattled, gules, between three trefoils slipt, vert.
58. WILLIAM WITTESLEY, LL. D. bishop of
Worcester, was on October 11, 1368, translated from
that see to this archbishopric.
He was a native of Huntingdonshire, and nephew
to archbishop Islip, at whose charges he had been
brought up at Oxford, where he proceeded doctor of
the common law, whence he was sent by his uncle to
Rome, to solicit his causes, and gain experience by seeing the practice of that court; after some time he was
called home and by his uncle preferred to be his vicar general, and dean of the arches; he was next preferred to the archdeaconry of Huntingdon, and prebend of Nassington, in the church of Lincoln, and then
to the rectories of Croydon, and Cliff, near Hoo;
after which he was promoted to the see of Rochester,
from whence he was translated to that of Worcester,
and thence again to this archbishopric, as above mentioned.
Nothing remarkable happened during his presiding
over this church, excepting his procuring a bull from
the pope to free the university of Oxford from the jurisdiction of the bishop of Lincoln, and to govern
themselves by their own officers and statutes.
He had long been troubled with a lingering disease,
of which he died at Lambeth, on June 5, anno 1374, (fn. 38)
having sat in this see five years and upwards. By his
last will he gave all his books of the civil and canon
law, and of divinity, to St. Peter's, commonly called
Peter-house college, in Cambridge, of which he had
formerly been custos, or master. (fn. 39) He bequeathed his
substance to his poor relations, by which it should
seem, that he was not very rich, and appointed John
de Woodall, Walter Dancy and John de Sustorn, his
executors.
He was buried over against the tomb of his uncle
archbishop Islip, between two pillars, on the south side
of the upper part of the nave of this cathedral, under a
handsome marble tomb, (fn. 40) having his portraiture, in his
pontificals, with an inscription round it, engraved in
brass, long since torn from it; but the tomb itself has
been removed only some few years since, on the new
paving of the nave.
Weever says, (fn. 41) only the following part of his inscription remained in his time:
…tumulatus,
… WITTLESEY natus,
Gemmata luce. (fn. 42)
He was esteemed a man of singular learning, and
an excellent preacher, as appears by the two sermons
in Latin, which he preached at the two synods he convened.
There is a seal of this archbishop's appendant to one
of the Chartæ Antiquæ, in the treasury of the dean and
chapter, oval, four inches by two and a half, having
the archbishop standing, mitred, robed, pall, blessing;
cross in his left hand; above, gothic niches; in the upper one, God the Father holding a crucifix; on each,
side the archbishop, a shield with the arms of the see.
O. 112. The archbishop bore for his arms, Or, a saltire, azure. After his death, the monks elected to this
see their former archbishop, Simon Langham, then
a cardinal of the church of Rome, who repenting that
he had resigned this chair, endeavoured thus to obtain
possession of it again; (fn. 43) but on the monks making this
election, the king was so highly exasperated against
them, that he had intentions of expelling and banishing
them from the convent for ever; but the pope interposing, in order to appease the king, he transhated
Simon Sudbury from the see of London to this archbishopric. (fn. 44)