Walter of Marvis

Last updated

Walter of Marvis (ca.1175 - 1252) was a leading Flemish churchman who served between 1219 and 1252 as the Bishop of Tournai / Doornik, a time during which the diocese also included the modern dioceses of Bruges and Ghent. [1]

Biography

Walter came from the Marvis quarter of the parish of St. Brice in Tournai. The earliest clear mention of him dates from 1205 by which time he was already and canon, deacon and school master ("Magister Walterus") at the Cathedral of Our Lady. He had received his own early education at the cathedral's chapter school, before going away to complete his studies in Theology at the newly founded College of Sorbonne in Paris. Returning to Tournai, between 1205 and 1220 he was employed as a teacher at the chapter school which he had himself attended as a boy. The first mention of his having become an ordained priest dates from 1212. [1] [2] His teaching responsibilities did not prevent him from joining the Fifth Crusade in 1218. By this time the crusading armies had moved on to Egypt, and he arrived at Damietta, which fell to the westerners on 8 November 1219. [1] While in Egypt he encountered the man who later became canonised as Saint Francis of Assisi, and who is described in at least one source as "a negotiator with the sultan" [2] (although there appears to be little clarity over what was actually discussed during the few days when the future saint was "graciously received" by the sultan). Many crusaders returned to the west early and it is likely that by the end of 1219 Walter of Marvis was back in the west. [2] While he was away Bishop Gossuinus of Tournai had died on 29 October 1218. Walter of Tournai was elected to succeed him in or shortly after November 1219. The appointment was confirmed in January 1220 and he was consecrated as Bishop of Tournai on 17 February 1220. [3]

Between 1226 and 1229 Bishop Marvis was active in support of the pope's intensifying struggle against Catharism, and in 1233 he participated at the Council of Béziers as a Legate of the Holy See. The council appears to have been part of the larger inquisitorial operation against Cathars in the aftermath of the Albigensian Crusade in the Languedoc region. On the occasion of the Council, Walter de Marvis published twenty-six regulations. [4]

During the years that followed his work, always in the service of the pope, was focused on his own diocese in West Flanders, which was undergoing a period of repaid economic development. He increased regulation of the convents and monasteries. He founded or authorised new hospices and beguinages, notably the one in Bruges (since 1927 used as a convent), which in 1245 was granted recognition as an individual parish in its own right. [5]

In the County of Flanders he left a lasting historical footprint, notably, through the creation of a large number of new parishes, especially in the large area of heathland between Aalter and Bruges known as the Bulskampveld, in the Waasland and in the Meetjesland. In these regions progress was being made with draining and ditching the land, opening the way to more intensive patterns of agriculture, able to drive and support the expansion of the villages. In 1242 Marvis personally led a lengthy horseback journey round his newly enlarged diocese, probably starting from Bruges, to define a series of new parishes, placing crosses at parish boundaries or marking parish limits by having crosses marked on trees. A number of old street and locality names survive that attest to this exercise. [2]

Back in Tournai he instigated a number of major construction projects. He commissioned the building of a trading hall ("cloth hall") on the Main square (Grand-place). He was also behind the rebuilding of an enlarged choir section of the cathedral, which was undertaken between 1243 and 1252 in the modern style of those times. Plans to replace the other half of the cathedral in the modern style came to nothing, however, leaving the building as an instructive contrast between the Romanesque and Gothic architectural styles. The Church of Sainte Marie Madeleine, which also used the Gothic style, was another construction for which Marvis was responsible. [2]


Related Research Articles

Louis VIII of France King of France

Louis VIII, nicknamed The Lion, was King of France from 1223 to 1226. From 1216 to 1217, he also claimed the Kingdom of England. Louis was the only surviving son of King Philip II of France by his first wife, Isabelle of Hainaut, from whom he inherited the County of Artois.

Noyon Commune in Hauts-de-France, France

Noyon is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It lies on the Oise Canal about 100 kilometers (60 mi) north of Paris.

Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester French nobleman and leader of the Albigensian Crusade

Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, known as Simon IVde Montfort and as Simon de Montfort the Elder, was a French nobleman and famed knight of the early 13th century. He is widely regarded as one of the great military commanders of the Middle Ages. He took part in the Fourth Crusade and was one of the prominent figures of the Albigensian Crusade. Montfort is mostly noted for his campaigns in the latter, notably for his triumph at Muret. He died at the Siege of Toulouse in 1218. He was lord of Montfort-l'Amaury from 1188 to his death and Earl of Leicester in England from 1204. He was also Viscount of Albi, Béziers and Carcassonne from 1213, as well as Count of Toulouse from 1215.

Odo III, Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy

Eudes III, commonly known in English as Odo III, was duke of Burgundy between 1192 and 1218. Odo was the eldest son of duke Hugh III and his first wife Alice, daughter of Matthias I, Duke of Lorraine.

Tournai Cathedral

The Tournai Cathedral, or Cathedral of Our Lady , is a Roman Catholic church, see of the Diocese of Tournai in Tournai, Belgium. It has been classified both as a Wallonia's major heritage since 1936 and as a World Heritage Site since 2000.

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.

Roman Catholic Diocese of Tournai

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tournai is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in Belgium. The diocese was formed in 1146, upon the dissolution of the diocese of Noyon & Tournai, which had existed since the 7th century. It is now suffragan of the archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels. The cathedral is Notre-Dame de Tournai which has been classified both as a Wallonia's major heritage since 1936 and as a World Heritage Site since 2000.

Franciscus Sonnius

Franciscus Sonnius was a theologian during the time of the Catholic Reformation, the first bishop of 's-Hertogenbosch and later the first bishop of Antwerp. His family name was Van de Velde, but in later years he called himself after his native place, Son in Brabant. He came from the same noble family as philosopher Heymeric de Campo. The family has three golden mill-irons in their coat-of-arms, a sign that is depicted on the chair of the first bishop in the cathedral of Antwerp.

Roman Catholic Diocese of Bruges

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bruges, is a suffragan diocese in ecclesiastical province of the primatial Metropolitan archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels.

Prior of Christ Church

The Prior of Christ Church was the prior of Christ Church Cathedral Priory in Canterbury, attached to Canterbury Cathedral.

Eleutherius of Tournai

Saint Eleutherius of Tournai is venerated as a saint and considered the first bishop of Tournai. The Catholic Encyclopedia writes that "historically there is very little known about St. Eleutherius, but he was without doubt the first Bishop of Tournai."

Berenguer de Palou II

Berenguer de Palou II was bishop of Barcelona from 1212 to 1241. He was a major supporter of James I of Aragon.

Reliquary Shrine of Saint Eleutherius

The great gilt-copper and enamel Reliquary Shrine of Saint Eleutherius in the cathedral of Tournai (Belgium), one of the masterpieces of Gothic metalwork, was commissioned by Bishop Walter de Marvis of Tournai, and completed in 1247, on the occasion of the retranslation of relics of Saint Eleutherius of Tournai, traditionally the city's first bishop. The shrine takes the architectural form of a chasse or gabled casket; its more distant prototype is the gabled sarcophagus that was an established Romanesque convention in Northern Europe, "a form which was quite fitting," Marvin Ross observed in discussing the similarly shaped gilt-copper and enamel reliquary of Saint Amand in the Walters Museum "since these châsses were in a sense also tombs". As with the prototypical tombs, a blind arcade runs along the base, forming niches with the protective seated figures of Apostles and Prophets. In its gable end St Eleutherius appears, holding his crozier in one hand and in the other a model of the cathedral with its five spires.

John, Archbishop of Esztergom

John was a prelate in the Kingdom of Hungary in the 12th and 13th centuries. He was Bishop of Csanád between 1198 and 1201, Archbishop of Kalocsa from 1202 to 1205 and Archbishop of Esztergom between 1205 and 1223. He crowned Ladislaus III of Hungary, Andrew II of Hungary and Coloman of Halych king. Andrew II appointed him to govern the kingdom during his crusade between 1217 and 1218.

Ten Wijngaerde (Begijnhof Brugge)

The Princely Beguinage Ten Wijngaerde is the only preserved beguinage in the Belgian city of Bruges. There are no more Beguines living there, but since 1927 it functions as a convent for Benedictines, founded by canon Hoornaert. In the same year the houses at the west side were also reshaped and enlarged into the Monasterium De Wijngaard, a priory of Benedictine nuns.

Clemens Crabbeels

Clemens Crabeels (c.1534–1592) was the third bishop of 's-Hertogenbosch, in the Habsburg Netherlands, from 1584 until his death in 1592.

Jean-François van de Velde

Jean-François or Jan Frans van de Velde (1779–1838) was the 20th bishop of Ghent, in Belgium, from November 1829 until his death.

Gustavus Waffelaert

Gustave Joseph Waffelaert (1847–1931) was the 22nd bishop of Bruges in Belgium.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Paul Declerck (1922-1981). "Bisschop Walter van Marvis en deeerste Minderbroeder kloosters in het Bisdom Doornik" . Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Frits Schetsken (compiler). "Walter de Marvis (1175-1252)" . Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  3. ↑ Jeroen Westerman (8 December 2016). "Overzichten van kerkelijke hoogwaardigheidsbekleders .... Bisschoppen van Doornik" (PDF). De Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal van Doornik : onafhankelijkheidsmonument voor een bisdom. Leiden University Repository. pp. 696–697. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  4. ↑ Louis Ellies Du Pin (1713). A Compedious History of the Church, from the beginning of the world to this present time. Bernard Lintott. p. 212.
  5. ↑ "Bruges Béguinage". SpottingHistory.com. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
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.