John Salmon (died 1325) was a medieval

Bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The bishop of Norwich is Graham Usher. The see is in the ...

Life

Salmon's family was hereditary goldsmiths to the diocese of Ely. His parents were Salomon and Alice, and he was the eldest of three brothers. He entered the Benedictine priory of Ely sometime before 1291.Buck "Salmon, John" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' He was subprior of

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral has its origins in AD 672 when St Etheldreda built an abbey church. The presen ...

before his election to be Prior of Ely in 1292.Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 2: Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces): Ely: Priors
' Salmon was elected to the

see of Ely See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

in 1298 but King

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassa ...

objected, wanting the monks to elect his chancellor

John Langton John Langton (died 1337) was a chancellor of England and Bishop of Chichester. Life Langton was a clerk in the royal chancery, serving as the first Master of the Rolls from May 1286, and became chancellor in 1292.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of B ...

instead. Each side appealed to Rome, and both elections were quashed by Pope

Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani family was of baronial ...

on 5 June 1299.Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 2: Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces): Ely: Bishops
'' As a consolation, he was provided to the

see of Norwich The Diocese of Norwich is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Church of England that forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. History It traces its roots in an unbroken line to the diocese of the Bishop of the East ...

between 5 and 18 June 1299Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 261 as he was still

prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

on 5 June.Greenway
British History Online Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 2: Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces): Norwich: Bishops
'' He was consecrated on 15 November 1299. In 1307 Salmon helped arrange the marriage of the new king,

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

, and in 1309 he was sent by the king to Rome to obtain the return from exile of

Piers Gaveston Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall (c. 1284 – 19 June 1312) was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of Edward II of England. At a young age, Gaveston made a good impression on King Edward I, who assigned him to the househ ...

. On 20 March 1311 he was elected one of the Lords Ordainers to help King Edward II govern.Powell and Wallis ''House of Lords'' p. 275 and footnote 78 Over the next few years he was often in the king's service, being sent on diplomatic missions and negotiating with the earl of Lancaster for the king. Salmon occupied the office of

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

of England from 1320 to 1323.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 86 He accompanied the king on his travels, and helped negotiate with France and Scotland. He resigned the office in 1323 due to ill health, but continued to work on the king's behalf. Salmon died on 6 July 1325 at

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while returning from a diplomatic mission in France. He was buried in

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Norwich, Norfolk, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. It is the cathedral church for the Church of England Diocese of Norwich and is one of the Norwich 12 heritage sites. The cathedral ...

Citations

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Salmon, John Bishops of Norwich Lord chancellors of England 1325 deaths Bishops of Ely Year of birth unknown Burials at Norwich Cathedral 13th-century English Roman Catholic bishops