Richard le Grant was

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 ...

from 1229 to 1231.

Biography

Grant was a native of

Nazeing Nazeing is a village and parish in Essex, England. Within the parish are the separate settlements of Upper Nazeing, Middle Nazeing, and Lower Nazeing. The Prime Meridian passes to the west of Lower Nazeing. Location and topography Nazeing is ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

and had a brother and sister whom he provided for after he became archbishop.Lawrence "Grant, Richard" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' He was chancellor of the

see of Lincoln The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire. History The diocese traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Pre-Reformation Diocese of Lei ...

when Henry III nominated him to be Archbishop of Canterbury in opposition to

Walter d'Eynsham Walter d'Eynsham, also known as Walter de Hempsham was a medieval Archbishop of Canterbury-elect. Walter was a monk of Christ Church Priory in Canterbury, when he was chosen to be the Archbishop of Canterbury on 3 August 1228 by his fellow monk ...

in 1229.Powell and Wallis ''House of Lords'' pp. 150–151 He had been chancellor of Lincoln since at least 16 December 1220, when he first occurs in documents in that office.Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 3: Lincoln: Chancellors
' He was also a distinguished writer.Moorman ''Church Life'' p. 162 and teacher. Grant was provided to the

see 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 ...

on 19 January 1229 by Pope

Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

, and received the

temporalities Temporalities or temporal goods are the secular properties and possessions of the church. The term is most often used to describe those properties (a ''Stift'' in German or ''sticht'' in Dutch) that were used to support a bishop or other religious ...

of the see probably on 24 March 1231. He was consecrated on 10 June 1229.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 233 He was recommended for the see by

Alexander de Stavenby Alexander de Stavenby (or Alexander of Stainsby; died 26 December 1238) was a medieval Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield. Alexander was probably a native of Stainsby, Lincolnshire, and had two brothers, William and Gilbert, who held land there ...

, the

Bishop of Coventry The Bishop of Coventry is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Coventry in the Province of Canterbury. In the Middle Ages, the Bishop of Coventry was a title used by the bishops known today as the Bishop of Lichfield. The present ...

, and

Henry Sandford Henry Sandford was a medieval Bishop of Rochester. Sandford was a royal official before becoming a canon of the diocese of Salisbury and was Archdeacon of Canterbury from about 1213 until he was chosen for Rochester.

, the

Bishop of Rochester The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was foun ...

, who wrote to the pope on Richard's behalf. On 26 January 1231, at a council at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

Grant, along with other bishops, objected to Henry III's earlier demand of a second

scutage Scutage is a medieval English tax levied on holders of a knight's fee under the feudal land tenure of knight-service. Under feudalism the king, through his vassals, provided land to knights for their support. The knights owed the king military s ...

payment. Grant found himself in conflict with

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 ...

, the

Justiciar Justiciar is the English form of the medieval Latin term ''justiciarius'' or ''justitiarius'' ("man of justice", i.e. judge). During the Middle Ages in England, the Chief Justiciar (later known simply as the Justiciar) was roughly equivalent ...

, over the wardship of the de Clare estates at Towbridge, which conflict the archbishop lost after King

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...

sided with his justiciar. Grant then attempted to implement reforms in the clergy over the issue of pluralism and the employment of the clergy in the royal government. In pursuit of this aim, he journeyed to Rome to enlist the papacy's aid, but after a favourable reception at the Curia, he died on his return journey to England on 3 August 1231 in Italy.Powell and Wallis ''House of Lords'' p. 157 He was buried in

San Gemini San Gemini is a ''comune'' (municipality) of c. 5,000 inhabitants in the province of Terni in the Italian region Umbria, located about 60 km south of Perugia and about 10 km northwest of Terni. San Gemini borders the municipalities of Mo ...

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

. It has been speculated that he is the same as Richard of Wetheringsett, the earliest known

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, who served some time between 1215 and 1232, and author of the .Goering "Summa ''Qui bene presunt'' ''Literature and Religion'' pp. 143-159

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Richard le

Richard le Grant Richard le Grant was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1229 to 1231. Biography Grant was a native of Nazeing, Essex and had a brother and sister whom he provided for after he became archbishop.Lawrence "Grant, Richard" ''Oxford Dictionary of Natio ...

13th-century English Roman Catholic archbishops le Grant, Richard Burials in Umbria Year of birth unknown