Adam Easton ( – 15 September 1397) was an English

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

, born at Easton in Norfolk. He joined the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

s at

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

moving on to the Benedictine

Gloucester College, Oxford Gloucester College, Oxford, was a Benedictine institution of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, from the late 13th century until the Dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century. It was never a typical college of the Universit ...

where he became one of the most outstanding students of his generation, being especially proficient in Hebrew. He is known to have accompanied

Simon Langham Simon de Langham (1310 – 22 July 1376) was an English clergyman who was Archbishop of Canterbury and a cardinal. Life Langham was born at Langham in Rutland. The manor of Langham was a property of Westminster Abbey, and he had become a ...

to Rome, then Montefiascone and Avignon and he held the post of socius in Langham's household. Being a man of learning and ability, he obtained a post in the

Curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

. He was instrumental in the attack and subsequent condemnation of

John Wycliff John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, Catholic priest, and a seminary professor at the University of ...

and supporting Catholic

orthodoxy Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churc ...

in England. He was made a Cardinal by

Urban VI Pope Urban VI ( la, Urbanus VI; it, Urbano VI; c. 1318 – 15 October 1389), born Bartolomeo Prignano (), was head of the Catholic Church from 8 April 1378 to his death in October 1389. He was the most recent pope to be elected from outside the ...

, on 21 September 1381. On 7 March 1381 or 1382, he was nominated

Dean of York Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

. He arranged

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...

and

Anne of Bohemia Anne of Bohemia (11 May 1366 – 7 June 1394), also known as Anne of Luxembourg, was Queen of England as the first wife of King Richard II. A member of the House of Luxembourg, she was the eldest daughter of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and ...

's wedding coronation in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

and probably composed the Liber Regalis. A document in the Abbey concerning the coronation offerings gives him as Cardinal of

Santa Cecilia in Trastevere Santa Cecilia in Trastevere is a 5th-century church in Rome, Italy, in the Trastevere rione, devoted to the Roman martyr Saint Cecilia (early 3rd century AD). History The first church on this site was founded probably in the 3rd century, by Pop ...

. In 1385 he was imprisoned at Nocera in Campania by Urban on a charge of conspiring with five other cardinals against the pope and was deprived of his cardinalate and deanery. With his fellow captives he was dragged across Italy arriving at Genoa in autumn 1385. Here the others were put to death but Adam was spared through the personal intervention of Richard II. The next pope,

Boniface IX Pope Boniface IX ( la, Bonifatius IX; it, Bonifacio IX; c. 1350 – 1 October 1404, born Pietro Tomacelli) was head of the Catholic Church from 2 November 1389 to his death in October 1404. He was the second Roman pope of the Western Schism.Richa ...

, restored his cardinalate on 18 December 1389. It has been suggested that for a time Easton returned to England. The Norwich Record Office documents the sending of the Cardinal's books by way of the Low Countries to Norwich for his use there. He retained benefices in England throughout this period, including Somersham, the deanery of York. In April 1392 Easton was admitted, with a papal endorsement of the exchange, as rector of

Hitcham, Suffolk Hitcham is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Located on the B1115 road, between Hadleigh and Stowmarket, it is part of Babergh district. The parish contains the hamlets of Bird Street, Cook's Green and Cross Green. The populatio ...

, in return for which he surrendered the prebend of Yetminster Secunda in Salisbury cathedral to John of Ilkilington. He wrote many works the most significant of which was a massive volume entitled the ''Defence of Ecclesiastical Power'', of which only the prologue and first book survive. In it he defended the church's authority against the state, apparently attacking the views of

Marsilius of Padua Marsilius of Padua (Italian: ''Marsilio'' or ''Marsiglio da Padova''; born ''Marsilio dei Mainardini'' or ''Marsilio Mainardini''; c. 1270 – c. 1342) was an Italian scholar, trained in medicine, who practiced a variety of professions. He ...

John of Jandun John of Jandun or John of Jaudun ( French Jean de Jandun, Johannes von Jandun, or Johannes de Janduno, circa 1285–1328) was a French philosopher, theologian, and political writer. Jandun is best known for his outspoken defense of Aristotel ...

and

William of Occam William of Ockham, OFM (; also Occam, from la, Gulielmus Occamus; 1287 – 10 April 1347) was an English Franciscan friar, scholastic philosopher, apologist, and Catholic theologian, who is believed to have been born in Ockham, a small vill ...

and by implication, also refuting Wyclif's theology as false and erroneous.Pantin (1948) p.178-180 He was always courteous to his opponents, referring to them as 'men of great learning and abundance of sanctity'. A number of his other works still exist, as do some of the manuscripts of his library, which were shipped back to Norwich from Rome in six barrels, and he composed the Office for the Visitation of Our Lady. He also laboured for the canonisation of

Birgitta of Sweden Bridget of Sweden (c. 1303 – 23 July 1373) born as Birgitta Birgersdotter, also Birgitta of Vadstena, or Saint Birgitta ( sv, heliga Birgitta), was a mystic and a saint, and she was also the founder of the Bridgettines nuns and monks after t ...

in 1391 with a structured refutation of a Perugian 'Devil's Advocate', in a document in which he defended women's visionary writings. He may have been

Julian of Norwich Julian of Norwich (1343 – after 1416), also known as Juliana of Norwich, Dame Julian or Mother Julian, was an English mystic and anchoress of the Middle Ages. Her writings, now known as ''Revelations of Divine Love'', are the earlies ...

's spiritual director, editing her Long Text ''Showing of Love'' in the same way that Birgitta of Sweden's spiritual director, Alfonso of Jaen, edited her ''Revelationes''. Alfonso became director to

Catherine of Siena Catherine of Siena (Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church. ...

, whose confessor and executor was

William Flete William Flete was a 14th-century Augustinian hermit friar, a contemporary and great friend of St. Catherine of Siena. Biography The exact place and date of his birth are unknown and those of his death are disputed. He was an English mystic, and ...

, the Cambridge-educated Augustinian Hermit of Lecceto, and to Chiara Gambacorta. Easton's Defense of St Birgitta echoes Alfonso of Jaen's Epistola Solitarii, and William Flete's Remedies against Temptations, all of which appear in Julian's text. He died at Rome on 15 September (or, according to other sources, 20 October) 1397. His tomb, constructed later, is in his Cardinalate Basilica of

Citations

References

*Julia Bolton Holloway (2006), ''Anchoress and Cardinal: Julian of Norwich and Adam Easton, O.S.B.'' *Andrew Lee (2006), ''The Most Ungrateful Englishman, The Life and Times of Adam Easton'' *A. W. Pantin (1948), ''The English Church in the Fourteenth Century'' *

External links

Website on Adam Easton
;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Easton, Adam Year of birth missing 1397 deaths English Benedictines Deans of York 14th-century English cardinals Clergy from Norwich Alumni of Gloucester College, Oxford Benedictine cardinals