Nobber was once an important town in the Kingdom of Meath, and the Rectory of Nobber was united to this dignity; thus the holder was sometimes called Rector of Nobber, Parson of Nobber, or most commonly styled Archdeacon of Nobber.[3][4] In medieval times, "Kells" is called Middle English: Kenlys, Kenlis, Keneleis, Keneles, with "Nobber" expressed as Middle English: Nobire, Nobbir, Nobir, Nebyre, Nobyre, Nober. Confusingly, the archdeacon of Kells held the Rectory of Nobber, while the archdeacon of Meath held the Rectory of Kells.[5][n 1]
In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church. An archdeacon is often responsible for administration within an archdeaconry, which is the principal subdivision of the diocese. It is nearly impossible to fully catalogue the succession of holders of this ancient office.[7] Nonetheless, the information below is preserved.
* aft. = after
* bef. = before
* d. = died
* res. = resigned
* att. = attainted
Dates
Name of holder
Extracts from papal, ecclesiastical and annalistic sources
"son of Gaethin, Archdeacon of the Abbey of Kells, died",[7][4]Irish: "Cúdúiligh, mac Gaithine, fos airchinneach[n 2] Cenannsa, décc" and "Cuduiligh, son of Gaithine Fosairchinneach of Ceanannus, died.".[11]
"elected Bishop of Meath",[7] "on 12th of July 1286",[12] "appointed Bishop of Meath in 1287",[8] and "died in a very advanced age, in December, 1320 or 1321".[13]
bef. 1288 – 1288 (d.)
John de Dubleton, or Dumbilton?
"Archdeacon. (But quoere, whether of Kells, or of Meath?)",[14] "died 18th November 1288, and was buried at Kells".[7]
"Archdeacon of Kells in 1315",[7][8] but "Archdeacon of Meath in 1350, and consecrated Bishop of Meath in 1350, died St. Bartholomew's day (24th August), 1352".[15]
bef. 1348 – aft. 1369
Henry Powell
"1 December 1348: Henry Powel, Archdeacon of Kenlys".[16] and in 1362,[7][8][4] and in 1367,[17] and in 1369 when Archbishop Sweteman wrote to "Master Henry Powle, Archdeacon of Kenlys" on 28 August, seeking details of "revenues", and 19 September, "warning him of the consequences of disobedience to this, his second letter".[18]
bef. 1374 – bef. 1380
Nicholas Runnehy?
"appears as Arch deacon, either of Meath of Kells".[19]
"Adam Naas (1384–1415)",[4][8] "Adam del la Naas (1411)",[23] "24 Nov 1412: Adam del Naase, Archdeacon of Kenlis",[24] "17 Apr 1413: Adam del Naas, Archdeacon of Kenlys".[25] died before 1417.[26]
Styled in 1417 as "Archdeacon of Nobber",[7] with "Mandate to collate and assign to Robert Sutton, .. the still void archdeaconry of Kenlys .. which, on its voidance by the death of Adam le Nase, Robert obtained by collation[27]". He retained possession in 1418,[4] but the "archdeaconry, .. possession of which Robert unlawfully detained", was confiscated on 17 July 1423.[26]
1423 – 1428 (d.)
Thomas Rosellis or Rossell
"1420, Thomas Rosell[is], perpetual vicar of St. Peter's, Drogheda, .. bachelor of canon law. Reservation of the canonry and prebend of Swerdes in Dublin, ..; notwithstanding that he holds .. the canonry and prebend of Glemethan in Dublin and the archdeaconry of Kenlys in Meath, which .. he has not got possession, and about which prebend and archdeaconry he is litigating in the Roman court",[28] "1423, Thomas Rosell[is], .. litigating .. about the .. archdeaconry of Kenlys .., to which is annexed the parish church of Nobyre, of which (quorum) he has not got possession, .. was adjudged to him and perpetual silence imposed on Robert" in 1423.[26] Died circa 1428.[29]
1423 – 1428 (res.)
John Stanyhurst
"the late Thomas Rosellis, archdeacon of Kenlys, in his cause long ventilated in the apostolic palace against John Stanyhurst, .. of which John was unduly detaining possession, as he still does, Rosellis obtained a definitive sentence by which the archdeaconry was adjudged to him and perpetual silence imposed on John",[29] in 1428.[30]
1428 – aft. 1428
Thomas Barby
"On 8th March 1429, To Thomas Barby, archdeacon of Kenlys in Meath, I.U.B. Collation and assignment of the said archdeaconry, .. to which is annexed the parish church of Nobir".[29]
bef. 1434 – bef. 1467
John Stanyhurst
"9 Aug 1434: John Stanyhurst, archdeacon of Kells in Meath.",[31] and "Archdeacon of Kells, and parson of Nobber in 1435".[32] and 1464.[7][4]
bef. 1467 – bef. 1525
James Porter
"archdeacon of Kells (de Kenlys) in the church of Meath, bachelor of canon law".[33]
Cahir Magranyl, or McRanell,[14] "Chale Mac Gravyll",[37] "McRaynal, Charles Raynall .. died of an incurable fever the day before the Pope was due to appoint him Bishop of Elphin and Clonmacnoise, .. 15 July 1535".[38]
"In 1543 King Henry VIII. united the Rectory of Nobber to the Archdeaconry of Kells".[7][14]
aft. 1543 – 1565 (d.)
Thomas Lockwood
"After the separation of this dignity from its brief union with the Bishopric of Meath, we find Lockwood again Archdeacon in 1547",[39] holding office until his death, in April 1565.[40]
"styled archdeacon of nobber".[14] "Archbishop of Armagh (Church of Ireland) in 1568". "On account of the Poverty of his See, he had a Licence dated 26 March, following his Consecration, to hold in Commendam, ... the Archdeaconry of Kells, together with the Rectory of Nobbir";[42] died 1584.[43]
Dissolution
In 1543, Edward Staples, Bishop of Meath, appropriated the Archdeaconry of Kells and the Rectory of Nobber to his Episcopal see,[8] or rather the temporalities of the offices.[44] The union was sealed by license from the king, dated 27 December 1544.[45] Nonetheless, the Archdeaconry of Kells expressed itself again in 1547, with Thomas Lockwood still incumbent. The reason for the brief union of offices is unclear, but it is known many religious houses in Ireland resisted dissolution until well into the reign of Elizabeth I. On 12 March 1569, Thomas Lancaster, an English Protestant clergyman, consecrated Archbishop of Armagh (Church of Ireland) on 12 June 1568, was given license to hold in commendam the post of archdeaconry of kells, and the rectory of Nobber.[42] According to the "Regal Visitation Book", sometime before 1622, the office of "Archdeaconry of kells, or Nobber", was permanently united to the bishopric of Meath.[4]
Notes and references
Notes
↑ Lawlor (1912) writes: "In Sweteman's rent-roll of Nobber, a place is mentioned by the name of Brakschise: it is elsewhere called Braktys. The first syllable of this name is evidently breac. Can it be Brittas in the parish of Nobber?".[6]
↑ See McInerney – "Irish: airchinneach" translates as "erenagh":- "Hist: Hereditary steward of church lands",[9] and "Irish: fos airchinneach" translates as "Vice-Erenagh",[10] so sources are erroneous to call "Cuduiligh" ("Fosairchinneach") an "Archdeacon".
↑ Healy (1908) erroneously lists "The Bishop of Telese in Campania" as Archdeacon in 1401, misinterpreting text: "...bishop of Telese, the archdeacon of Kells (Kenllis)... and the official of Armagh." in Calendar of Papal Registers.
Lawlor, H. J. (1911). Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy (ed.). "A Calendar of the Register of Archbishop Sweteman"(PDF). The Library, Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto, Canada: Dublin: Hodges, Figgis & Co., Ltd., London: Williams & Norgate. pp.235, 236, 285.
Nobber is a village in north County Meath, Ireland. It is on the Navan–Kingscourt road (R162), about 19 kilometres (12 mi) north of Navan. This places the village about 60 kilometres (37 mi) from the M50 motorway, the orbital motorway of Dublin. The village is in a townland and civil parish of the same name.
Thomas St Leger, Archdeacon of Kells, was the son of Ralph St. Leger, of a long established Anglo-Norman family; his mother belonged to the de Malemains family. He was elected Bishop of Meath before 5 November 1282, but was not successful in holding possession of the See, reportedly because of his Norman blood.He took his claim to Rome, where he was eventually appointed by Pope Honorius IV on 12 July 1286. He was consecrated on 3 November 1287; and died in office in December 1320, after a long and painful illness. He was active in the early 1290s in raising money for the Crusades. He acted as a justice in eyre (circuit)in County Tipperary. He was renowned for fiercely upholding his Episcopal rights, and for extending the powers and privileges of his Diocese, but he was also famed for his courtesy.
Peter Drelincourt, was Dean of Armagh. He was the sixth son of Charles Drelincourt, minister of the reformed church in Paris, and graduated M.A. at Trinity College, Dublin, 1681, and LL.D. 1691.
Edward Stopford was an Anglican bishop in the Church of Ireland in the 19th century. A former Archdeacon of Armagh, he became Bishop of Meath in 1842 and died in post on 17 September 1850.
Cormac Mác Shamhradháin O.S.A., b. c.1410-d.1476, was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Ardagh diocese in Ireland from 1444 to 1476.
The Diocese of Duleek was an Irish diocese, firstly subsumed by the Diocese of Meath and now within the Diocese of Meath and Kildare.
Cormac Mág Shamhradháin O.S.A., b. c.1442-d.1511, was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Kilmore diocese, Ireland from 1476 to 1480 and the anti-bishop of Kilmore from 1480 to 1511.
Henry Jones was the Anglican Bishop of Clogher and Bishop of Meath.
Randolph Barlow, was an Anglican archbishop. He was made Pembroke College fellow at Cambridge University in 1593; attained Master of Arts in 1594; awarded Doctor of Divinity in 1600; took holy orders and later served in the Church of Ireland as the Archbishop of Tuam from 1629 to 1638.
The Monastery of Ennisnag was an early Irish Christian monastery, and later a medieval prebendal church, located at Ennisnag, in County Kilkenny, Ireland. The medieval monastery and church are no longer extant. From the ruins, St Peter's church, of Protestant denomination, was established in the early 19th century.
The monastery of Mohill-Manchan was anciently located at Mohill, in county Leitrim. The earliest church was founded by Manchán of Mohill in the 6th century. Little is known about the former monastic community here. About the year 1216, the monastery became a religious house of the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine dedicated to the Saint Mary until suppression c. 1550 – c. 1590. The Priory of Mohill was briefly revived during Confederate Ireland rule but suppressed again by Cromwellian forces c. 1649–1653. From the ruins St. Mary's Church, Mohill, of Protestant denomination, was established in the 18th century.
The Archdeacon of Armagh is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Anglican Diocese of Armagh. The Archdeacon is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the Diocese.
The archdeacon of Meath is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the united Diocese of Meath and Kildare.
The Archdeacon of Clonmacnoise was a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Church in Ireland. As such he was responsible for the disciplinary supervision of clergy within the Meath Diocese. The archdeaconry can trace its history from Milo Mac Thady O'Connor, the first known incumbent, who held the office in 1260, to the last incumbent Richard Lingard who held the office from 1639 to 1666 when he became Dean of Lismore.
Cormac Ua Ruadhrachh was an Irish priest in the eleventh century: the only recorded Archdeacon of Fore.
The Bishop of Kells was the ordinary of the Pre-Reformation Irish Catholic episcopal see based at Kells, County Meath, Ireland.
The Archdeacon of Cork, Cloyne and Ross is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Anglican Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross. The Archdeacon is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the Diocese. The current incumbent is Adrian Wilkinson.
The Archdeacon of Killaloe, Kilfenora, Clonfert and Kilmacduagh is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Anglican Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe. As such he or she is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the Diocese. As of 2020, the incumbent was Wayne Carney.
Charles Reynolds was an Irish Catholic cleric, canonist, and diocesan administrator. Born in County Leitrim into an Irish clan of Hiberno-Norse descent and son of Marcus Mac Raghnaill, Reynolds entered a religious order and was appointed to influential posts as archdeacon and military chaplain to the Earl of Kildare. His name in native Irish is Cathal Mac Raghnaill, but he used the Anglicized name of "Archdeacon Charles Reynolds" whenever he was in the Pale or in the company of English-speakers. He was educated at the University of Oxford and was multilingual; being fluent in English, Irish, and Ecclesiastical Latin. Archdeacon Reynolds opposed Henry VIII of England's policy of imposing Caesaropapism upon the Catholic Church in his dominions, declined to acknowledge him as Supreme Head of the Church of England, and refusing to acknowledge the annulment of the King's marriage to Catherine of Aragon or his uncanonical remarriage to Anne Boleyn.
John White was a 15th-century Archdeacon in Ireland.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
