Ranulph Brito or Le Breton (died 1246) was a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of St. Paul's Cathedral,

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Life

Brito is first mentioned in 1221 as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

Hubert de Burgh Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent (; ; ; c.1170 – before 5 May 1243) was an English nobleman who served as Justiciar, Chief Justiciar of England and Ireland during the reigns of King John, King of England, John and of his son and successor Kin ...

. During the administration of his patron he stood high in the favour of Henry III and became the king's treasurer. On the fall of Hubert in 1232, many of the officers who had been appointed through his influence were removed and their places given to countrymen of the new minister,

Peter des Roches Peter des Roches (died 9 June 1238) ( Latinised as ''Peter de Rupibus'' ("Peter from the rocks")) was bishop of Winchester in the reigns of King John of England and his son Henry III. He was not an Englishman, but rather a native of the Tourain ...

, the Poitevin

bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...

. Among those displaced was Ranulph Brito, who was accused of having misapplied the revenues which passed through his hands and was subjected to a fine of £1,000. He was also sentenced to

banishment Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

, but this penalty was afterwards remitted. Whether the charges brought against him were well founded or not, it is significant that his successor, Peter de Rievaulx (De Rivallis), is described by

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 ...

as the "nephew or son" of the bishop of Winchester. In 1239 a certain William, who had been sentenced to death for various crimes, tried to save his own life by bringing accusations of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

against several persons of eminent position. Ranulph Brito, who was then canon of St. Paul's, was one of those denounced, and at the king's instance he was arrested by the mayor of London and committed to

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

. The

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and chapter of St. Paul's, in the absence of the bishop of London, immediately pronounced a general

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

against all who had any share in this outrage upon a member of their body, and placed the cathedral under an interdict. The bishop of London supported the action of the chapter, and, finding the king unmoved by his remonstrances, threatened to extend the interdict to the whole of the city. The legate, the

archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, and several other prelates added entreaties and menaces, and the king was obliged to yield. At first he struggled to obtain from the chapter an undertaking that the prisoner, if released, should be ready to appear when called upon to answer the charge made against him; but they refused to entertain the demand, and Ranulph was freed unconditionally. Shortly afterwards the informer confessed that his accusations were false, and he was executed. Although admitting Ranulph's innocence of the crime of treason, Matthew Paris intimates that he had amassed a large fortune by various acts of extortion, the canons of Missenden being particularly mentioned as having suffered from his rapacity. He died suddenly in 1246, having been seized with apoplexy while watching a game of

dice Dice (singular die or dice) are small, throwable objects with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. They are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing g ...

. The name of Ranulph Brito has been erroneously inserted by Dugdale and others in the list of chancellors. This mistake arose from the word ''consiliarius'', used by Matthew Paris, having been printed in Wats's edition as ''cancellarius''.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Brito, Ranulph Year of birth missing 1246 deaths 13th-century English Roman Catholic priests