Nicholas de Sigillo

Last updated

Nicholas de Sigillo
Archdeacon of Huntingdon
Appointed c.  1164
Term endedafter 1187
Predecessor Henry of Huntingdon
Successor Robert de Hardres
Other post(s)Royal clerk
Personal details
Born
Nicholas

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.

Contents

Sometime before 1166 Nicholas was appointed to the archdeaconry of Huntingdon. While in office there, he attempted to reform both the administrative and religious practices of his archdeaconry. In 1173 Nicholas once more served Henry, this time assessing royal taxes. He last appears alive in 1187 when he is still named as an archdeacon. He may be the Nicholas who gave a still extant first volume of the Bible to Lincoln Cathedral.

Early career

Nicholas derived his name from his office, as he was clericus de sigillo, the next highest office in the royal chancery after the chancellor. It is unknown when he first held royal office, but it is possible it was during the reign of King Stephen of England (reigned 1135–1154). [1] One document of Stephen's reign states that he was master of Stephen's writing chamber. [2] He held a prebend in the diocese of Lincoln by the middle of the 1150s. [3]

Sometime between 1148 and 1160 Robert de Chesney, the Bishop of Lincoln granted a church to Nicholas to hold for life, [1] on the condition that he would lose possession of the church if he either became a monk or if he was elevated to a bishopric. [4] In 1157 Nicholas was a royal administrator as he was involved with King Henry II's invasion of Wales. In the years 1157 through 1159 he was a witness to the king's charters. [1]

Archdeacon

Sometime between 1164 and 1166 he was appointed Archdeacon of Huntingdon, in succession to the medieval chronicler Henry of Huntingdon. The most likely date of his appointment is 1164 or early 1165. [2] After his appointment, John of Salisbury wrote to him, congratulating Nicholas on his new office. John also commented that Nicholas would need to change his opinion of the chances that archdeacons had of reaching salvation now that he held that office. [1]

Nicholas, as part of his duties as archdeacon, heard disputes between clergy over church property. One such dispute was heard sometime between 1164 and 1185 by Nicholas, along with the synod of his archdeaconry, over land in Woodstone parish that was disputed between the parish and the Fens monastic house of Thorney Abbey. [5] Between 1164 and 1166 Nicholas put canons from Malton Priory in Yorkshire as the clergy of the church at King's Walden in Hertfordshire. [6] Nicholas also instituted a set of "constitutions" or regulations for the clergy of his archdeaconry. This was part of Nicholas' efforts to reform the administrative and ecclesiastical affairs of his office. [7]

Later years

In 1173 Nicholas was once again working for the king, when he, along with Richard fitz Nigel and Reginald de Warenne, assessed a land tax on the royal demesne. [1] These three men assessed the tax in the counties of Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire, Kent and Sussex. [8] Nicholas is last mentioned in the historical record in 1187, as an archdeacon without territorial title. [2] During the reign of King John, a legal case documents that Nicholas gave a messuage to his niece (or possibly a granddaughter) Emma. [1] Nicholas may be the same Nicholas whose death was commemorated on 13 March at Lincoln Cathedral and gave a gift of the first volume of the Great Bible to the cathedral, where it remains as Lincoln, MS 1; the second volume is now at Trinity College, Cambridge. [2]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kingsford and Hudson "Sigillo, Nicholas de" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  2. 1 2 3 4 Greenway Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 3: Lincoln: Archdeacons of Huntingdon
  3. ↑ Greenway Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 3: Lincoln: Dignitaries and Canons whose Prebends are Unidentified: (i) Canons holding a dignity but unidentified prebends
  4. ↑ Stenton "Acta Episcoporum" Cambridge Historical Journal p. 7
  5. ↑ Kemp "Archdeacons and Parish Churches" Law and Government p. 349
  6. ↑ Kemp "Archdeacons and Parish Churches" Law and Government p. 357
  7. ↑ Kemp "Archdeacons and Parish Churches" Law and Government pp. 362-363
  8. ↑ Richardson "Richard fitz Neal" English Historical Review p. 169 footnote 1

Related Research Articles

Roger le Poer was a medieval Lord Chancellor from 1135 until 1139 for King Stephen of England. The son of a powerful bishop, Roger owed his position to his family connections. He lost his office when his father and other relatives lost power. Arrested along with his father, Roger was used to secure the surrender of a castle held by his mother and then disappeared from history.

Robert of Ghent or Robert de Gant was Lord Chancellor of England and Dean of York in the 12th century. The younger son of a nobleman, Robert was probably a member of the cathedral chapter of York before his selection as chancellor by King Stephen of England in the mid-1140s. He is not mentioned often in documents from his time as chancellor, but why this is so is unknown. He became dean at York Minster around 1147. Robert was slightly involved in the disputes over who would be Archbishop of York in the late 1140s and 1150s, but it is likely that his chancellorship prevented his deeper involvement in diocesan affairs. He was no longer chancellor after the death of Stephen, but probably continued to hold the office of dean until his death around 1157 or 1158.

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.

Walter Giffard was Lord Chancellor of England and Archbishop of York.

Sewal de Bovil 13th-century Archbishop of York

Sewal de Bovil was a medieval Archbishop of York.

Henry of Newark was a medieval Archbishop of York.

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.

William of St. Barbara or William of Ste Barbe was a medieval Bishop of Durham.

John Climping was a medieval Bishop of Chichester.

Gilbert of St Leonard 13th and 14th-century Bishop of Chichester

Gilbert de St Leonard was a medieval Bishop of Chichester.

Robert Foliot 12th-century Bishop of Hereford

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.

John de Breton was a medieval Bishop of Hereford. He served as a royal justice and sheriff before being nominated to Hereford. He is sometimes credited with the legal treatise Britton; but in its current form Breton cannot be the author as the work refers to laws written 15 years after the bishop's death.

Hugh of Wells 13th-century Bishop of Lincoln

Hugh of Wells was a medieval Bishop of Lincoln. He began his career in the diocese of Bath, where he served two successive bishops, before joining royal service under King John of England. He served in the royal administration until 1209, when he was elected to the see, or bishopric, of Lincoln. When John was excommunicated by Pope Innocent III in November 1209, Hugh went into exile in France, where he remained until 1213.

Richard de Belmeis was a medieval cleric, administrator and politician. His career culminated in election as Bishop of London in 1152. He was one of the founders of Lilleshall Abbey in Shropshire.

The Archdeacon of Oxford is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Diocese of Oxford, England. The office responsibility includes the care of clergy and church buildings within the area of the Archdeaconry of Oxford.

Richard Barre 12th-century English clergyman and royal official

Richard Barre was a medieval English justice, clergyman and scholar. He was educated at the law school of Bologna and entered royal service under King Henry II of England, later working for Henry's son and successor Richard I. He was also briefly in the household of Henry's son Henry the Young King. Barre served the elder Henry as a diplomat and was involved in a minor way with the king's quarrel with Thomas Becket, which earned Barre a condemnation from Becket. After King Henry's death, Barre became a royal justice during Richard's reign and was one of the main judges in the period from 1194 to 1199. After disagreeing with him earlier in his career, Barre was discharged from his judgeship during John's reign as king. Barre was also archdeacon of Ely and the author of a work of biblical extracts dedicated to one of his patrons, William Longchamp, the Bishop of Ely and Chancellor of England.

Honorius of Kent was a medieval English Archdeacon of Richmond and canon lawyer.

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.

Hamo was a 12th- and 13th-century English cleric. He was the Diocese of York's dean, treasurer, and precentor, as well as the archdeacon of the East Riding. His background is unknown, but he was probably a canon of the cathedral chapter at York Minster by 1171. He claimed to have been treasurer of the chapter by 1189, but did not actually hold the office until 1199. Hamo clashed with his archbishop, Geoffrey several times, and when Geoffrey died, Hamo's fellow canons were forbidden by King John of England from electing Hamo to succeed Geoffrey. Hamo died sometime after 1219, when he was last attested as holding his final office, dean.

Hugh Murdac was an English clergyman and canon of York Minster in the 12th and 13th centuries.

References

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.