John Crakehall | |
---|---|
Archdeacon of Bedford | |
Appointed | 1254 |
Predecessor | John de Dyham [1] |
Successor | Peter de Audeham [1] |
Personal details | |
Born | before 1210 |
Died | c. 8 September 1260 London |
Buried | Waltham Abbey |
Lord High Treasurer | |
In office 2 November 1258 –c. 8 September 1260 | |
Monarch | Henry III |
Preceded by | Philip Lovel [2] |
Succeeded by | John of Caux [2] |
John Crakehall (or John of Crakehall [3] or John de Crakehall; [4] died September 1260) was an English clergyman and Treasurer of England from 1258 to 1260. Possibly the younger son of a minor noble family in Yorkshire,Crakehall served two successive bishops of Lincoln from around 1231 to the 1250s. He then became an archdeacon in the diocese of Lincoln before being named as treasurer,where he served until his death in 1260. He owed his appointment to the treasurership to a number of factors,including his reputation for administrative ability and his relationship with the leader of the baronial effort to reform royal government. While in office,he strove to improve the administration of the exchequer as well as collect outstanding debts to the government and improve royal revenues.
Crakehall was from Crakehall in the North Riding of Yorkshire and may have been a younger son of Ellis of Crakehall. Ellis was a sub-tenant who held lands in the lordship of Richmond. [5] His birthdate is unknown,although it was likely before 1210. He had an elder brother,Peter,and at least one sister who reached adulthood. If John was Ellis' son,he was related to a number of important families in Yorkshire,including the Nevilles and d'Oyry families. [3]
From later career and letters,Crakehall must have been educated in at least theology,and his activities as an administrator indicate that he was literate. He is never accorded the title of magister ,which indicates that if he did attend a university,he did not complete his studies. [6]
Crakehall first appears in records when he was the attorney at Westminster for Hugh of Wells,the Bishop of Lincoln,over Easter in 1231. On 9 April 1231 he was installed as the rector of Somerton in Oxfordshire. [5] Crakehall retained this benefice until his death. [7] Until 1233,Crakehall appears occasionally as a member of Hugh's household,but after March of that year Crakehall appears more often. [8]
While serving Hugh,Crakehall became a canon of Lincoln Cathedral sometime after 1233 or 1234. He was ordained a subdeacon sometime before April 1235. [5] Hugh named Crakehall as an executor of his estate in June 1233. [5] Hugh died in February 1235,and Robert Grosseteste was elected as bishop by the end of March 1235. [8]
Crakehell served Grosseteste from around 1235 to 1250 as the chief steward of the Diocese of Lincoln. As steward he was involved in a number of disputes,including one in 1240 over the rights of the bishop to visit and inspect the activities of the dean and cathedral chapter of Lincoln Cathedral. In 1241 Crakehall was Grosseteste's agent in negotiations with King Henry III of England over the prebend of Thame. [5] Crakehall's advocacy of the bishop's cause did not affect his relations with the king,who later granted the steward several small royal favours over the following years. [9]
In 1250 Crakehall went with Grosseteste to Lyons to meet with Pope Innocent IV. [5] He had resigned as steward at some point before the trip to Lyons,but the exact date is unknown. [10] No administrative records survive from Crakehall's time as steward,which limits the ability of historians to record his career fully. But the regulations that the bishop drew up for his household survive,and would have governed Crakehall's actions. They basically prohibited anyone employed by Grossteste from accepting any gifts except food or drink while banning unfair demands. [8] After leaving the steward's office,Crakehall remained close to the bishop,and in 1251 was appointed by Grosseteste to review the bishopric's finances,which had suffered under Crakehall's successor as steward. [5]
While in Grosseteste's service,Crakehall acquired a number of minor ecclesiastical offices by 1240 and in 1247 he was named rector of Eddlesborough in Bedfordshire. When Grossteste died in late 1253 Crakehall was present at the deathbed and his account of the event was the basis for Matthew Paris' account in the Chronica majora . Crakehall served as Grosseteste's executor, [5] a fact that is known only from Crakehall's actions as Grossteste's will has not survived. [7] Besides his service to the bishops of Lincoln,Crakehall corresponded with Adam Marsh and was one of Marsh's close friends. [5] Crakehall was Archdeacon of Bedford by 18 November 1254 when he was named as such. [1]
Crakehall was appointed Treasurer of England on 2 November 1258. [2] He owed his appointment to the baronial council that was formed under Simon de Montfort,which had recently taken power from the king's hands. [5] It is likely that Montfort was behind the council's appointment,as the Crakehall and Montfort shared a mutual network of friends,although it is not clear if the relationship between the two went beyond mutual acquaintanceship. The fact that Montfort's longstanding appeal to the treasury for payment of a debt was partially granted just two days after Crakehall's appointment is a clue pointing to Montfort's role in Crakehall's appointment. [11]
Another reason for the appointment of the archdeacon by the council was a need to mitigate somewhat the lingering image of corruption stemming from the bad reputation of Philip Lovel,the previous treasurer. For this,a treasurer who had experience with working under Grossteste's household strictures would have made the archdeacon an attractive appointment. Crakehall's ability to manage the finances of the diocese of Lincoln,which was the largest diocese in England,would also have played a role in his appointment. His reputation for competence,which had caused him to be recalled to oversee his successor as steward,was also well known. [9] His familiarity with Grosseteste's views on the need for financial soundness in government would have also played a role. [12]
As treasurer Crakehall worked to implement the reforms laid out in the Provisions of Westminster of 1259. [5] Royal revenues during the early 1250s did not have access to some of the more lucrative sources of revenue that were irregular,such as ecclesiastical vacancies and royal wardships over minor heirs to tenant-in-chief's of the king. A further problem was the impoverishment of the Jewish community,resulting from too many previous exactions made by the government. The king was also overly generous to his relatives and pursued expensive foreign policy efforts that put serious strains on the royal budget. [13]
To combat the problems facing the treasury,Crakehall worked to improve the stability of the royal revenues and during his time in office,there was a small increase in the proceeds paid into the exchequer. One of his efforts was attempting to recover debts owed by former sheriffs. His appointment had originally been just for one year,but the council of barons extended it another year in 1259. [5] Other efforts were to better utilize royal wardships as royal revenue streams,instead of the king's previous use of them as patronage for his favourites,which resulted in much lowered royal income. Under the baronial council and Crakehall,these wardships were sold in order to maximize the royal profit. The resulting income was usually,although not always,put aside to pay off royal debts. [13]
Other areas of reform included the royal mints,which had a reputation for corruption and inefficiency. A commission was appointed to look into the running of the mints,and several moneyers were required to report to the treasurer and give guarantees that they would perform their work well in the future. [14] The record keeping of the treasury was further refined,with small improvements to the auditing of the sheriff's accounts,the memoranda rolls,and to the receipt rolls of the treasury. [15] Lastly,all fines that came in to the treasury were intended to go to the exchequer instead of to the wardrobe,as had previously been the case. This would allow the revenues from fines to be properly accounted for. [16]
Crakehall was also a prebendary of Rugmere in the Diocese of London,where he was installed sometime in February 1259. He was ousted from the Rugmere prebend when the papacy appointed another clergyman to the prebendary. [17] His tenure of Rugmere was marred by a dispute with the eventual papal appointee,Jordan Piruntus,which led to the murder of two clergymen by Crakehall's men. Rumours circulated that Crakehall had been implicated somehow in the murders but the rumours were unfounded. [5]
Crakehall died between 8 and 10 September 1260, [2] in London. He was buried at Waltham Abbey. [5] In later years,Lincoln Cathedral commemorated his death annually on 5 September. [1] Although Crakehall was ordained in major orders,which normally required celibacy, [18] he had a daughter,Petronilla. Whether he was married to Petronilla's mother or not is unknown. Petronilla was married to Alan of Kingthrope. Petronilla and her husband inherited part of Crakehall's estate while the other part went to Crakehall's nephew,William of Cadeby. [5]
As treasurer,Crakehall oversaw a slight increase in royal revenues and improved the record-keeping and administrative activities of the treasury. The failure to greatly increase royal income and the king's expanding debts can,according to the historian Adrian Jobson,be laid more at the feet of the baronial council than the treasurer. The royal government needed a new income stream,but the reformers failed to find it,which led to the treasury almost ceasing to function soon after Crakehall's death,and eventually to the Second Barons' War in 1264. [19]
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the baronial opposition to the rule of King Henry III of England, culminating in the Second Barons' War. Following his initial victories over royal forces, he became de facto ruler of the country, and played a major role in the constitutional development of England.
Boniface of Savoy was a medieval Bishop of Belley in Savoy and Archbishop of Canterbury in England. He was the son of Thomas, Count of Savoy, and owed his initial ecclesiastical posts to his father. Other members of his family were also clergymen, and a brother succeeded his father as count. One niece was married to King Henry III of England and another was married to King Louis IX of France. It was Henry who secured Boniface's election as Archbishop, and throughout his tenure of that office he spent much time on the continent. He clashed with his bishops, with his nephew-by-marriage, and with the papacy, but managed to eliminate the archiepiscopal debt which he had inherited on taking office. During Simon de Montfort's struggle with King Henry, Boniface initially helped Montfort's cause, but later supported the king. After his death in Savoy, his tomb became the object of a cult, and he was eventually beatified in 1839.
Robert Grosseteste, also known as Robert Greathead or Robert of Lincoln, was an English statesman, scholastic philosopher, theologian, scientist and Bishop of Lincoln. He was born of humble parents in Suffolk, but the associations with the village of Stradbroke is a post-medieval tradition. Upon his death, he was revered as a saint in England, but attempts to procure a formal canonisation failed. A. C. Crombie called him "the real founder of the tradition of scientific thought in medieval Oxford, and in some ways, of the modern English intellectual tradition".
Robert Burnell was an English bishop who served as Lord Chancellor of England from 1274 to 1292. A native of Shropshire, he served as a minor royal official before entering into the service of Prince Edward, the future King Edward I of England. When Edward went on the Eighth Crusade in 1270, Burnell stayed in England to secure the prince's interests. He served as regent after the death of King Henry III of England while Edward was still on crusade. He was twice elected Archbishop of Canterbury, but his personal life—which included a long-term mistress who was rumoured to have borne him four sons—prevented his confirmation by the papacy. In 1275 Burnell was elected Bishop of Bath and Wells, after Edward had appointed him Lord Chancellor in 1274.
Henry Wingham was a Lord Chancellor of England and Bishop of London.
John Chishull or John de Chishull was Lord Chancellor of England, Bishop of London, and Lord High Treasurer during the 13th century. He also served as Dean of St Paul's.
Savaric fitzGeldewin was an Englishman who became Bishop of Bath and Glastonbury in England. Related to his predecessor as well as to Emperor Henry VI, he was elected bishop on the insistence of his predecessor, who urged his election on the cathedral chapter of Bath. While bishop, Savaric spent many years attempting to annexe Glastonbury Abbey as part of his bishopric. Savaric also worked to secure the release of King Richard I of England from captivity, when the king was held by Emperor Henry VI.
Nicholas Farnham was a medieval Bishop of Durham.
John of Tours or John de Villula (died 1122) was a medieval Bishop of Wells in England who moved the diocese seat to Bath. He was a native of Tours and was King William I of England's doctor before becoming a bishop. After his consecration as bishop, he was either given or purchased Bath Abbey, a rich monastery, and then moved the headquarters of the diocese from Wells, to the abbey. He rebuilt the church at Bath, building a large cathedral that no longer survives. He gave a large library to his cathedral and received the right to hold a fair in Bath. Not noted for his scholarship, he died suddenly in 1122.
Walter Mauclerk was a medieval Bishop of Carlisle and Lord High Treasurer of England.
Ranulf of Wareham was a medieval Bishop of Chichester.
Robert Passelewe was a medieval Bishop of Chichester elect as well as being a royal clerk and Archdeacon of Lewes.
Stephen Bersted was a medieval Bishop of Chichester.
Gilbert de St Leonard was a medieval Bishop of Chichester.
Robert Foliot was a medieval Bishop of Hereford in England. He was a relative of a number of English ecclesiastics, including Gilbert Foliot, one of his predecessors at Hereford. After serving Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln as a clerk, he became a clerk of Henry of Blois, the Bishop of Winchester and brother of King Stephen of England. He attended the Council of Reims in 1148, where another relative, Robert de Chesney, was elected as Bishop of Hereford. Chesney then secured the office of Archdeacon of Oxford for Foliot.
Hugh Foliot was a medieval Bishop of Hereford. Related somehow to his predecessor at Hereford, he served as a priest and papal judge as well as being an unsuccessful candidate as Bishop of St David's in Wales. In 1219, he was appointed Bishop of Hereford. During his time in office, he mostly attended to ecclesiastical duties, but did occasionally serve as a royal administrator. He helped found a hospital and a priory, and died in 1234 after a months-long illness.
Richard of Gravesend was a medieval Bishop of Lincoln.
Charles Booth, D.C.L. was a sixteenth-century clergyman who served as the Bishop of Hereford from 1516 to 1535.
Nicholas de Sigillo was a medieval Anglo-Norman administrator and clergyman in England. Perhaps beginning his career as a royal official during the reign of King Stephen of England, he had certainly entered royal service by 1157 when he was serving Stephen's successor King Henry II, and was a witness on a number of royal charters from 1157 to 1159.
Burchard du Puiset was a medieval Anglo-Norman clergyman and treasurer of the diocese of York. Either the nephew or son of Hugh du Puiset, the Bishop of Durham, Burchard held a number of offices in the dioceses of York and Durham before being appointed treasurer by King Richard I of England in 1189. His appointment was opposed by the newly appointed Archbishop Geoffrey, which led to a long dispute between Geoffrey and Burchard that was not resolved until the mid 1190s. After the death of Hugh du Puiset, Burchard was a candidate for the Hugh's old bishopric, but lost out in the end to another candidate. Burchard died in 1196.