Richard le Scrope ( – 8 June 1405) was an English cleric who served as
Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield
The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West M ...
and
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 ...
and was executed in 1405 for his participation in the
Northern Rising against King
Henry IV.
Family
Richard Scrope, born about 1350, was the third son of
Henry Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Masham
Henry le Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Masham ('' c.'' 1312 – 31 July 1392) was an English soldier and administrator.
Biography
Scrope was the eldest son of Geoffrey le Scrope and his first wife, Ivetta. He succeeded his father in 1341.
In earl ...
, and his wife, Joan, whose surname is unknown. He had four brothers and two sisters:
* Sir Geoffrey Scrope (c.1342–1362), who married Eleanor Neville, the daughter of Ralph de Neville, 2nd Baron Neville, by Alice, daughter of Hugh de Audley, and was slain at the siege of the Castle of Piskre in
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
in 1362, dying without issue.
* Stephen Scrope (c.1345 – 25 January 1406),
2nd Baron Scrope of Masham
* Henry Scrope (1359 - 1425), 4th Lord FitzHugh, 3rd Baron of Ravensworth, who married Lady Elizabeth DeGrey (1365 - 1427)
* Sir John Scrope, who married Elizabeth Strathbogie
* Joan Scrope, who married Henry FitzHugh, 2nd
Baron FitzHugh
* Isabel Scrope, who married Sir Robert Plumpton
Career
His father had had a distinguished career as a soldier and administrator, and according to McNiven, Richard's Scrope's first preferments in the church probably owed a great deal to family influence. Scrope was rector of Ainderby Steeple near
Northallerton
Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It had a population of 16,832 in the 2011 census, an increase ...
in 1368, warden of the free chapel of
Tickhill Castle
Tickhill Castle was a castle in Tickhill, on the Nottingham/Yorkshire West Riding border, England and a prominent stronghold during the reign of King John.
Early history
The gatehouse range, seen from the bailey
The castle started as an 11th-c ...
, and in 1375 official to
Thomas Arundel
Thomas Arundel (1353 – 19 February 1414) was an English clergyman who served as Lord Chancellor and Archbishop of York during the reign of Richard II, as well as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1397 and from 1399 until his death, an outspoken op ...
,
Bishop of Ely
The Bishop of Ely is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with a section of nort ...
. He was ordained deacon on 20 September 1376, and priest on 14 March 1377. During this time he studied arts at
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, and by 1375 became licentiate in civil law. By 1383 he had earned doctorates of canon and civil law at
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, and in 1378 was Chancellor of the University.
From 1382 to 1386 Scrope was at Rome, serving as a papal chaplain and an auditor of the
Curia
Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...
. In 1382 he was instituted
Dean of Chichester. Although his election as Bishop of Chichester in September 1385 was blocked by King
Richard II, Scrope was made
Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield
The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West M ...
on 18 August 1386, and consecrated by
Pope Urban VI
Pope Urban VI ( la, Urbanus VI; it, Urbano VI; c. 1318 – 15 October 1389), born Bartolomeo Prignano (), was head of the Catholic Church from 8 April 1378 to his death in October 1389. He was the most recent pope to be elected from outside the ...
at
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
on the following day. Scrope made a profession of obedience to 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 ...
on 27 March 1387, and was enthroned in his cathedral on 29 June 1387.
Scrope combined his ecclesiastical duties with involvement in secular matters. In 1378 and 1392 he was sent on diplomatic missions to Scotland, and went to Rome in 1397 to further Richard II's proposal for the
canonisation
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...
of 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 ...
. While in Rome he was translated to
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 ...
between 27 February 1398 and 15 March 1398, and granted 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 ...
on 23 June 1398.
Although he did not participate in the factional strife which led up to King Richard II's deposition, on 29 September 1399 Scrope and
John Trefnant (d.1404),
Bishop of Hereford
The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.
The episcopal see is centred in the Hereford, City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in the Hereford Cathedr ...
, headed the commission which received the King's ‘voluntary’ abdication at the
Tower
A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...
. Scrope announced the abdication to a quasi-parliamentary assembly on the following day, and together with
Thomas Arundel
Thomas Arundel (1353 – 19 February 1414) was an English clergyman who served as Lord Chancellor and Archbishop of York during the reign of Richard II, as well as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1397 and from 1399 until his death, an outspoken op ...
,
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 ...
, escorted
Henry Bolingbroke
Henry IV ( April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of Fran ...
to the vacant throne.
Rebellion
As McNiven notes, the dominance of the Percys, Earls of Northumberland, in the north of England, and the family's pivotal role in putting Henry IV on the throne, as well as family alliances (Richard Scrope's elder brother, John Scrope, had married the widow of the
Earl of Northumberland's second son, Thomas Percy, and his sister, Isabel Scrope, had married Sir Robert Plumpton, a tenant of the Percys), meant that Richard Scrope, as Archbishop of York, was bound to become involved with the Percys. However his loyalty was untested until the Percys revolted in the summer of 1403. Even then, although the chronicler
John Hardyng
John Hardyng (or Harding; 1378–1465) was an English chronicler. He was born in Northern England.
Biography
As a boy Hardyng entered the service of Sir Henry Percy (Hotspur), with whom he was present at the Battle of Shrewsbury (1403). He the ...
, a Percy retainer, claimed that Scrope encouraged the Percys to rebel, there is no other evidence that he did so. The Percys suffered defeat at the
Battle of Shrewsbury
The Battle of Shrewsbury was a battle fought on 21 July 1403, waged between an army led by the Lancastrian King Henry IV and a rebel army led by Henry "Harry Hotspur" Percy from Northumberland. The battle, the first in which English archers ...
in 1403, at which Northumberland's son and heir,
Henry 'Hotspur' Percy
Sir Henry Percy (20 May 1364 – 21 July 1403), nicknamed Hotspur, was an English knight who fought in several campaigns against the Scots in the northern border and against the French during the Hundred Years' War. The nickname "Ho ...
, was slain.
Richard Scrope continued in his ecclesiastic duties as Archbishop of York. He, assisted by the Bishops of Durham and Carlisle Cathedrals, officiated at a solemn translation of
Saint John of Bridlington, 11 March 1404, ''de mandato Domini Papae''.
In 1405 Northumberland, joined by
Lord Bardolf, again took up arms against the King. The rising was doomed from the start because of Northumberland's failure to capture
Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland
Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland Earl Marshal (c. 136421 October 1425), was an English nobleman of the House of Neville.
Origins
Ralph Neville was born about 1364, the son of John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville by his wife Maud Percy (d. ...
. Scrope, together with
Thomas de Mowbray, 4th Earl of Norfolk
Thomas de Mowbray, 4th Earl of Norfolk, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, 8th Baron Segrave, 7th Baron Mowbray (17 September 1385 – 8 June 1405), English nobleman and rebel, was the son of Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, and Lady Elizabeth F ...
, and Scrope's nephew, Sir William Plumpton, had assembled a force of some 8000 men on
Shipton Moor on 27 May, but instead of giving battle Scrope parleyed with Westmorland, and was tricked into believing that his demands would be accepted and his personal safety guaranteed. Once their army had disbanded on 29 May, Scrope and Mowbray were arrested and taken to
Pontefract Castle
Pontefract (or Pomfret) Castle is a castle ruin in the town of Pontefract, in West Yorkshire, England. King Richard II is thought to have died there. It was the site of a series of famous sieges during the 17th-century English Civil War ...
to await the King, who arrived at York on 3 June.
Trial and death
The King denied the rebel leaders
trial by jury
A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions.
Jury trials are used in a significant ...
, and a commission headed by the
Earl of Arundel
Earl of Arundel is a title of nobility in England, and one of the oldest extant in the English peerage. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and is used (along with the Earl of Surrey) by his heir apparent as a courtesy title. The ...
and
Sir Thomas Beaufort sat in judgment on the Archbishop, Mowbray and Plumpton in Scrope's own hall at his manor of
Bishopthorpe
Bishopthorpe is a village and civil parish three miles south of York in the City of York unitary authority area and ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. Bishopthorpe is close to the River Ouse, and has a population of 3,174, in ...
, some three miles south 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 ...
. The Chief Justice,
Sir William Gascoigne, refused to participate in such irregular proceedings and to pronounce judgment on a Prince of the Church, and it was thus left to the lawyer Sir William Fulthorpe to condemn Scrope to death for
high 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 ...
. Scrope, Mowbray and Plumpton were taken to a field belonging to the
nunnery
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican C ...
of Clementhorpe which lay just under the walls 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 ...
, and before a great crowd were
beheaded
Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the ...
on 8 June 1405. Archbishop Scrope requested the executioner to deal him five blows in remembrance of the
Five Wounds of Christ
In Catholic tradition, the Five Holy Wounds, also known as the Five Sacred Wounds or the Five Precious Wounds, are the five piercing wounds that Jesus Christ suffered during his crucifixion. The wounds have been the focus of particular devotions, ...
, which was a popular devotion in Catholic England. After his execution, Archbishop Richard Scrope was buried in
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 ...
.
Legacy
Although Scrope's participation in the Percy rebellion of 1405 is usually attributed to his opposition to the King's proposal to temporarily confiscate the clergy's landed wealth, his motive for taking an active military role in the rising continues to puzzle historians.
Pope Innocent VII
Pope Innocent VII ( la, Innocentius VII; it, Innocenzo VII; 1339 – 6 November 1406), born Cosimo de' Migliorati, was head of the Catholic Church from 17 October 1404 to his death in November 1406. He was pope during the period of the Western ...
excommunicated
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 ...
all those involved in Archbishop Scrope's "trial" and execution. However, 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 ...
,
Thomas Arundel
Thomas Arundel (1353 – 19 February 1414) was an English clergyman who served as Lord Chancellor and Archbishop of York during the reign of Richard II, as well as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1397 and from 1399 until his death, an outspoken op ...
, refused to publish the Pope's decree in England, and in 1407
King Henry IV was pardoned by
Pope Gregory XII
Pope Gregory XII ( la, Gregorius XII; it, Gregorio XII; – 18 October 1417), born Angelo Corraro, Corario," or Correr, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 November 1406 to 4 July 1415. Reigning during the Western Schism, he was oppose ...
.
[.]
Despite his having been executed for political reasons, Archbishop Scrope was viewed by many in England as a
Saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
and a
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
. According to historian
Eamon Duffy
Eamon Duffy (born 1947) is an Irish historian. He is a professor of the history of Christianity at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow and former president of Magdalene College.
Early life
Duffy was born on 9 February 1947, in Dundalk, I ...
, pictures of the Archbishop are often found in Pre-Reformation English prayerbooks.
Shakespeare and Scrope
Scrope's parley with Westmorland at Shipton Moor, Westmorland's treachery, and Scrope's arrest after the dispersal of his army are depicted in Act IV of
Shakespeare's
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
''
Henry IV, Part 2''. In the play, the King's agents are shown persuading the Archbishop and the other rebel leaders to disband their army by promising that their demands will be met and then arresting them for
high 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 ...
. Every member of their army is then
executed without trial. According to historian
John Julius Norwich
John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich, (15 September 1929 – 1 June 2018), known as John Julius Norwich, was an English popular historian, travel writer, and television personality.
Background
Norwich was born at the Alfred House Nursing ...
, the actions of the King's agents continue to outrage audiences who watch the play being performed.
References
Footnotes
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
* Ian Mortimer, ''Henry IV: Self-made King''
*
John Julius Norwich
John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich, (15 September 1929 – 1 June 2018), known as John Julius Norwich, was an English popular historian, travel writer, and television personality.
Background
Norwich was born at the Alfred House Nursing ...
, ''Shakespeare's Kings''
* E.Wylie, ''Henry IV'' (London, 1938)
External links
The Martyrdom of Archbishop Richard Scrope
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scrope, Richard
1350 births
1405 deaths
14th-century English Roman Catholic bishops
15th-century English Roman Catholic bishops
Archbishops of York
Bishops of Lichfield
Burials at York Minster
Deans of Chichester
English rebels
Male Shakespearean characters
Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...
People executed under the Lancastrians