Godfrey Ludham (died 1265) was

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...

from 1258 to 1265.

Life

Ludham's parents were Richard and Eda of

Ludham Ludham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, in the Norfolk Broads, at the end of a dyke leading to Womack Water and flowing into the River Thurne. It lies to the East of Ludham Bridge, which is on the River Ant. It cov ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, and he had a brother Thomas who was also a priest.Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 6: York: Archbishops
''

Matthew Paris Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris ( la, Matthæus Parisiensis, lit=Matthew the Parisian; c. 1200 – 1259), was an English Benedictine monk, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey ...

gives him the name Godfrey Kineton, but without any explanation of why that was his name. He attended a university, for he bore the title of ''magister'' but the exact university is unknown.Smith "Ludham, Godfrey de" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' Ludham was a clerk of Archbishop

Walter de Gray Walter de Gray (died 1 May 1255) was an English prelate and statesman who was Archbishop of York from 1215 to 1255 and Lord Chancellor from 1205 to 1214. His uncle was John de Gray, who was a bishop and royal servant to King John of England. Af ...

before 17 June 1226 and was the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the moiety of Pengston by 26 August 1228. He was named

Precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

of York by September 1249, and may have held that office by 1244.Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 6: York: Precentors
' Ludham served as

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 * ...

from 1256 to 1258Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 6: York: Deans
'' before being elected as Archbishop of York about 25 July 1258. He was consecrated on 22 September 1258Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 282 by Pope Alexander IV at

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...

. His brother Thomas was papal chaplain, and held

prebends A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Archbis ...

and

Southwell Minster Southwell Minster () is a minster and cathedral in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England. It is situated miles from Newark-on-Trent and from Mansfield. It is the seat of the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham and the Diocese of Southwell and N ...

.Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 6: York: Prebendaries: Wetwang
' He was enthroned at York Minster sometime around Christmas of 1258. While archbishop, Ludham visited monasteries, and issued a set of synodal decrees for York were issued in 1259. He excommunicated the monks of Beverley because they had intruded into archiepiscopal property. In 1261 he put an interdict on the city of York for unspecified offences against the cathedral chapter and himself. Unfortunately, no register of his acts survives, so no detailed study of his time as archbishop is possible. He, however, does not seem to have played any part in the political life of the kingdom. In 1191 John, Count of Mortain, (later King

John of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Emp ...

) had granted the church of Walesby and its chapelry of Haughton to the church of St Mary,

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

, and in 1257, Ludham confirmed Rouen's authority to present Walesby's vicar, and specified among his dues and duties the chapel of Hockton with its tithes, and the joint funding with Rouen of repairs, rebuilding, books, vestments and other alterages. Ludham died on 12 January 1265, and was buried in the south

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

of York Minster. In 1968 his tomb was opened and studied because of construction work in the cathedral, and his body had evidently been embalmed. A

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...

was on his head, and he had his

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolit ...

as well as a

crozier A crosier or crozier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholi ...

and silver chalice and paten.

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ludham, Godfrey 1265 deaths Archbishops of York Deans of York 13th-century English Roman Catholic archbishops Burials at York Minster Year of birth unknown People from Ludham