Cum universi [note 1] (Latin : With the yoke) is a papal bull written by Pope Celestine III, issued on 13 March 1192. [note 2] The bull ended the claim of the Archbishop of York to metropolitan jurisdiction in Scotland and established an independent national church, albeit one with no figurehead.
Before the bull's publication, the church in Scotland had no metropolitan authority by way of an archbishop. [2] Attempts had been made by Pope Paschal II in 1100 to attach the metropolitan authority of the Archbishop of York to Scotland [3] in his letter Noscat dilectio, [note 3] which he addresses "to the suffragans of the metropolis of York per Scotiam". [4]
Noscat dilectio was written on the promotion of Gerard, Bishop of Hereford to the archbishopric of York, commanding the Scottish bishops to obey Gerard and accept his authority, which the Scottish bishops refused to do. [2]
On the consecration of Archbishop Thurstan of York by Pope Calixtus II, a more vigorous campaign was mounted insisting York's authority be recognised in Scotland. Although both Calixtus and successive popes commanded the obedience of the Scottish bishops to York, the bishops of St. Andrews and Glasgow refused, abetted by both King Alexander and King David. [4]
In April 1125, Pope Honorius II wrote to King David commanding him to receive Cardinal John of Crema as papal legate to investigate the matter of the continued controversy with the metropolitan authority of the Archbishop Thurstan and the Scottish bishops. [3] The inquiry was fruitless and in 1126, the pope summoned the Scottish bishops to Rome during Lent 1127 for an inquiry on their relationship with York. The meeting was, however, aborted. [4]
During the controversy, when a Scottish bishop required consecration it should have been performed by the Archbishop of York. [note 4] Due to vacancies arising in both sees concurrently, however, Bishop John and his successor Herbert were consecrated by the pope himself. [5] The pattern then continued even when the See of York was not vacant, when Herbert's successor, Engelram, was consecrated by Pope Alexander III. Engelram's successor, Jocelyn was consecrated at Clairvaux by a papal legate. [6]
The bull arose as a result of the controversy, and for the first time in the ecclesiastical history of Scotland, the church is referred to an entity (Scotticana ecclesia [3] ), comprising the dioceses of St. Andrews, Glasgow, Dunkeld, Dunblane, Brechin, Aberdeen, Moray, Ross and Caithness. [3] The bull then goes on to outline the rights attached to the church:
The bull is viewed as a pivotal moment in the history of the mediæval Scottish church and instrumental in the removal of English influences in Scottish ecclesiastical affairs. [6]
Pope Honorius II, born Lamberto Scannabecchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 December 1124 to his death in 1130.
Pope Callixtus II or Callistus II, born Guy of Burgundy, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 1119 to his death in 1124. His pontificate was shaped by the Investiture Controversy, which he was able to settle through the Concordat of Worms in 1122.
Theobald of Bec was a Norman archbishop of Canterbury from 1139 to 1161. His exact birth date is unknown. Some time in the late 11th or early 12th century Theobald became a monk at the Abbey of Bec, rising to the position of abbot in 1137. King Stephen of England chose him to be Archbishop of Canterbury in 1138. Canterbury's claim to primacy over the Welsh ecclesiastics was resolved during Theobald's term of office when Pope Eugene III decided in 1148 in Canterbury's favour. Theobald faced challenges to his authority from a subordinate bishop, Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester and King Stephen's younger brother, and his relationship with King Stephen was turbulent. On one occasion Stephen forbade him from attending a papal council, but Theobald defied the king, which resulted in the confiscation of his property and temporary exile. Theobald's relations with his cathedral clergy and the monastic houses in his archdiocese were also difficult.
William de Corbeil or William of Corbeil was a medieval Archbishop of Canterbury. Very little is known of William's early life or his family, except that he was born at Corbeil, south of Paris, and that he had two brothers. Educated as a theologian, he taught briefly before serving the bishops of Durham and London as a clerk and subsequently becoming an Augustinian canon. William was elected to the See of Canterbury as a compromise candidate in 1123, the first canon to become an English archbishop. He succeeded Ralph d'Escures who had employed him as a chaplain.
Ralph d'Escures was a medieval abbot of Séez, bishop of Rochester, and then archbishop of Canterbury. He studied at the school at the Abbey of Bec. In 1079 he entered the abbey of St Martin at Séez and became abbot there in 1091. He was a friend of both Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury and Bishop Gundulf of Rochester, whose see, or bishopric, he took over on Gundulf's death.
Thurstan or Turstin of Bayeux was a medieval Archbishop of York, the son of a priest. He served kings William II and Henry I of England before his election to the see of York in 1114. Once elected, his consecration was delayed for five years while he fought attempts by the Archbishop of Canterbury to assert primacy over York. Eventually, he was consecrated by the pope instead and allowed to return to England. While archbishop, he secured two new suffragan bishops for his province. When Henry I died, Thurstan supported Henry's nephew Stephen of Blois as king. Thurstan also defended the northern part of England from invasion by the Scots, taking a leading part in organising the English forces at the Battle of the Standard (1138). Shortly before his death, Thurstan resigned from his see and took the habit of a Cluniac monk.
The College of Cardinals, more formally called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. As of 24 February 2024, there are 239 cardinals, of whom 129 are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appointed by the pope for life. Changes in life expectancy partly account for historical increases in the size of the college.
Sede vacante is a term for the state of a diocese while without a bishop. In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the term is used to refer to the vacancy of the bishop's or Pope's authority upon his death or resignation.
Gerard was Archbishop of York between 1100 and 1108 and Lord Chancellor of England from 1085 until 1092. A Norman, he was a member of the cathedral clergy at Rouen before becoming a royal clerk under King William I of England and subsequently his son King William II Rufus. Gerard was appointed Lord Chancellor by William I, and he continued in that office under Rufus, who rewarded him with the Bishopric of Hereford in 1096. Gerard may have been with the king's hunting party when William II was killed, as he is known to have witnessed the first charter issued by the new king, Henry I of England, within days of William's death.
The Diocese of Passau is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany that is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. The Prince-Bishopric of Passau was an ecclesiastical principality that existed for centuries until it was secularized in 1803. The diocese covers an area of 5,442 km².
Thomas of Bayeux was Archbishop of York from 1070 until 1100. He was educated at Liège and became a royal chaplain to Duke William of Normandy, who later became King William I of England. After the Norman Conquest, the king nominated Thomas to succeed Ealdred as Archbishop of York. After Thomas' election, Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, demanded an oath from Thomas to obey him and any future Archbishops of Canterbury; this was part of Lanfranc's claim that Canterbury was the primary bishopric, and its holder the head of the English Church. Thomas countered that York had never made such an oath. As a result, Lanfranc refused to consecrate him. The King eventually persuaded Thomas to submit, but Thomas and Lanfranc continued to clash over ecclesiastical issues, including the primacy of Canterbury, which dioceses belonged to the province of York, and the question of how York's obedience to Canterbury would be expressed.
Christianity in medieval Scotland includes all aspects of Christianity in the modern borders of Scotland in the Middle Ages. Christianity was probably introduced to what is now Lowland Scotland by Roman soldiers stationed in the north of the province of Britannia. After the collapse of Roman authority in the fifth century, Christianity is presumed to have survived among the British enclaves in the south of what is now Scotland, but retreated as the pagan Anglo-Saxons advanced. Scotland was largely converted by Irish missions associated with figures such as St Columba, from the fifth to the seventh centuries. These missions founded monastic institutions and collegiate churches that served large areas. Scholars have identified a distinctive form of Celtic Christianity, in which abbots were more significant than bishops, attitudes to clerical celibacy were more relaxed and there were significant differences in practice with Roman Christianity, particularly the form of tonsure and the method of calculating Easter, although most of these issues had been resolved by the mid-seventh century. After the reconversion of Scandinavian Scotland in the tenth century, Christianity under papal authority was the dominant religion of the kingdom.
John was an early 12th-century Tironensian cleric. He was the chaplain and close confidant of King David I of Scotland, before becoming Bishop of Glasgow and founder of Glasgow Cathedral. He was one of the most significant religious reformers in the history of Scotland. His later nickname, "Achaius", a latinisation of Eochaid would indicate that he was Gaelic, but the name is probably not authentic. He was in fact a Tironensian monk, of probable French origin.
The Diocese of Aversa is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Campania, southern Italy, created in 1053. It is situated in the Terra di Lavoro (Liburia), seven miles north of Naples, and eight miles south of Capua. It is suffragan of the Archdiocese of Naples.
Within the Church of England, the primacy of Canterbury or primacy of England is the supremacy of the Archbishop of Canterbury over the Archbishop of York.
Radulf Novell was a 12th-century Anglo-Norman prelate. He was a native of York, and according to writings produced by the Archbishopric of York, was elected as Bishop of Orkney at St Peter's church in York by some representatives of the community of Orkney.
Cuno of Praeneste was a German Cardinal and papal legate, an influential diplomatic figure of the early 12th century, active in France and Germany. He held numerous synods throughout Europe, and excommunicated the Emperor Henry V numerous times, in the struggle over the issue of lay investiture of ecclesiastical offices. He spent six years promoting the acceptance of Thurstan of York as archbishop by King Henry I of England, without making York subject to Canterbury. He was seriously considered for election to the papacy in 1119, which he refused.
John of Crema was an Italian papal legate and cardinal. He was a close supporter of Pope Callistus II.
The Canterbury–York dispute was a long-running conflict between the archdioceses of Canterbury and York in medieval England. It began shortly after the Norman Conquest of England and dragged on for many years. The main point of the dispute was over whether Canterbury would have jurisdiction, or primacy, over York. A number of archbishops of Canterbury attempted to secure professions of obedience from successive archbishops of York, but in the end they were unsuccessful. York fought the primacy by appealing to the kings of England as well as the papacy. In 1127, the dispute over the primacy was settled mainly in York's favour, for they did not have to submit to Canterbury. Later aspects of the dispute dealt with concerns over status and prestige.
Jonathan was a Roman Catholic cardinal who played a major role in two divisive papal elections.
