Richard Fleming (
c. 1385 – 25 or 26 January 1431),
Bishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.
The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and ...
and founder of
Lincoln College, Oxford
Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the ...
, was born at
Crofton in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
.
Biography
Fleming was descended from a gentry family. His aunt, Cecily Fleming had married
Robert Waterton, '
Henry IV's esquire and right-hand man'. His nephew,
Robert Flemming
Robert Flemming (died 1456), was dean of Lincoln.
Background
Robert Flemming, born in the diocese of York, was likely an illegitimate son of Robert Flemming, esquire, of Wath, near Ripon (d.1459). His aunt, Cecily Fleming, married, in 1407, Rob ...
, was likely an illegitimate son of Robert Flemming, esquire, of Wath, near
Ripon
Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...
(d.1459).
Fleming was educated at
University College, Oxford
University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...
. Having taken his degrees, he was made prebendary of
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
in 1406, and the next year was junior proctor of the university. In 1409 he was appointed to the committee of twelve censors who were commissioned to examine the writings of
John Wyclif
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 O ...
and determine the heretical ideas they contained. Later that year he was accused of supporting some of Wyclif's errors in a public disputation, for which he incurred the censure of
Archbishop Arundel. Fleming must have either been exonerated or renounced his supposed heresy because he was still a member of the committee of censors when its list of Wycliffe's errors was published in 1411 (Nighman, 2003, pp.208-10).
Before 1415 Fleming was instituted to the rectory of
Boston in Lincolnshire. He attended the
Council of Constance
The Council of Constance was a 15th-century ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance in present-day Germany. The council ended the Western Schism by deposing or accepting the res ...
from late 1416 to early 1418 where he delivered a number of sermons which survive, all of which reveal a strong concern for clerical reform (Nighman, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2008a, 2008b). He was nominated to the see of Lincoln by papal provision on 20 November 1419 and on 28 April 1420 he was consecrated as bishop of Lincoln by
Martin V
Pope Martin V ( la, Martinus V; it, Martino V; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Otto (or Oddone) Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. Hi ...
in Florence. He attended the Council of
Pavia and Siena in 1428–1429 and, in the presence of the pope, reportedly made an eloquent speech in vindication of the rights of the English "nation" and in support of papal authority against the more radical proponents of
conciliarism
Conciliarism was a reform movement in the 14th-, 15th- and 16th-century Catholic Church which held that supreme authority in the Church resided with an ecumenical council, apart from, or even against, the pope.
The movement emerged in response to ...
; this sermon apparently does not survive. It was probably on this occasion that he was named chamberlain to the pope.
In February 1424 the
see 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 the ...
being vacant, the pope conferred it on Fleming; but the regency council of the young king
Henry VI refused to confirm the appointment, and Fleming resigned the appointment in July 1425. In 1427, Fleming obtained a royal licence empowering him to found a college at Oxford for the special purpose of training theologians to combat Wyclif's
heresy
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
. To Bishop Fleming was entrusted the execution of the decree of the Council of Constance for the exhumation and burning of Wycliffe's remains, though Fleming delayed fulfilling this duty for over a decade. He died at
Sleaford
Sleaford is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Centred on the former parish of New Sleaford, the modern boundaries and urban area include Quarrington, Lincolnshire, ...
, Lincolnshire, in January 1431. Although his foundation of Lincoln College, Oxford, was incomplete at the time of his death, the college's future was eventually secured and Fleming's manuscript books became the core collection of the collegiate library (de la Mare, 1962–3).
Citations
References
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* de la Mare, Albinia (1962-3). "Vespasiano da Bisticci and the Florentine MSS. of Robert Flemmyng in Lincoln College," ''Lincoln College Record'': 7–16.
*
* Nighman, Chris L. (1997). “Another look at the English staging of an Epiphany play at the Council of Constance,” ''Records of Early English Drama'' 22.2: 11–18.
* Nighman, Chris L. (2000). “‘Accipiant qui vocati sunt’: Richard Fleming's reform sermon at the Council of Constance,” ''Journal of Ecclesiastical History'' 51.1: 1-36. (https://scholars.wlu.ca/hist_faculty/7/)
* Nighman, Chris L. (2003). “Rhetorical self-construction and its political context in Richard Fleming’s reform sermon for Passion Sunday at the Council of Constance,” ''Annuarium historiae conciliorum'' 33.2: 405–25. (https://scholars.wlu.ca/hist_faculty/10/)
* Nighman, Chris L. (2008a). “Prudencia, plague & the pulpit: Richard Fleming’s eulogy for Robert Hallum at the Council of Constance,” ''Annuarium historiae conciliorum'' 38.1: 183–98. (https://scholars.wlu.ca/hist_faculty/8/)
* Nighman, Chris L. (2008b). “Citations of ‘noster’ John Pecham in Richard Fleming's Trinity Sunday sermon: Evidence for the political use of liturgical music at the Council of Constance,” ''Medieval Sermon Studies'' 52: 31–41. (https://scholars.wlu.ca/hist_faculty/17/)
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Attribution
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Richard
1385 births
1431 deaths
Alumni of University College, Oxford
People from Crofton, West Yorkshire
Bishops of Lincoln
15th-century English Roman Catholic bishops
1380s births
People associated with Lincoln College, Oxford
Founders of colleges of the University of Oxford