Walter de Gray (died 1 May 1255) was an English
prelate
A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...
and
statesman
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who was
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 ...
from 1215 to 1255 and
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 ...
from 1205 to 1214. His uncle was
John de Gray
John de Gray or de Grey (died 18 October 1214) was an English prelate who served as Bishop of Norwich, and was elected but unconfirmed Archbishop of Canterbury. He was employed in the service of Prince John even before John became king, for wh ...
, who was a bishop and royal servant to King
John of England
John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Emp ...
. After securing the office of chancellor, the younger Gray was a supporter of the king throughout his struggles and was present at the signing of
Magna Carta
(Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...
in 1215. After two unsuccessful elections to a bishopric, he became
Bishop of Worcester
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
in 1214 but soon after moved to York. During the reign of John's son, King
Henry III, Gray continued to serve the king while also being active in his archdiocese. He died in 1255 and was buried at
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 ...
, where his tomb still survives.
Early life
Gray was the son of John de Gray, of
Eaton in Norfolk and nephew of
John de Gray
John de Gray or de Grey (died 18 October 1214) was an English prelate who served as Bishop of Norwich, and was elected but unconfirmed Archbishop of Canterbury. He was employed in the service of Prince John even before John became king, for wh ...
,
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 ...
.
[Greenway "Archbishops" ''Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300'' Volume 6: York] His birth year is not recorded, nor is his age when he died, but according to the historian Lee Wyatt, Gray was probably born around 1180. This assumes that in 1214 he was at least 30, the earliest legal age for consecration as a bishop, which would mean he was not born after 1184. Likewise, it is unlikely he was much older than 80 when he died, which gives an earliest possible birth year of 1175.
[Wyatt "Making of an Archbishop" ''Seven Studies'' p. 65] He heard
Edmund of Abingdon
Edmund of Abingdon (also known as Edmund Rich, St Edmund of Canterbury, Edmund of Pontigny, French: St Edme; c. 11741240) was an English-born prelate who served as Archbishop of Canterbury. He became a respected lecturer in mathematics, dial ...
lecture at
Oxford University
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 ...
, although it does not appear that he was granted a degree.
[Haines "Gray, Walter de" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'']
Royal service under John
Gray was a favourite of King
John of England
John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Emp ...
,
[ who appointed him ]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 ...
in 1205;[Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 84] in return, Gray paid John 5,000 marks
Marks may refer to:
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* Mark's, a Canadian retail chain
* Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain
* Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members
* Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel ...
for the office. In 1209, Gray was one of the king's supporters who helped delay the promulgation in England of the papal bull declaring John 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 ...
. Gray accompanied the king to Dover
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
in May 1213 when the king issued a royal charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
whereby John became a papal vassal, although Gray did not appear as a witness on the charter. A story was later told that he refused to affix his chancellor's seal to the charter, but this is a later invention. In late 1213 Gray went to Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
, relinquishing custody of the great seal until his return in January 1214.[
Gray was elected ]Bishop of 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 Mi ...
in 1210.[Greenway "Worcester: Bishops" ''Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300'' Volume 2: Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces)] John was so determined to secure Gray's election, that one of John's knights locked the cathedral chapter
According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...
into a room, supposedly telling them that they would not be released until Gray was selected.[Turner ''King John'' p. 119] His election was set aside by Pandulf Verraccio
Pandulf Verraccio (died 16 September 1226), whose first name may also be spelled Pandolph or Pandulph (''Pandolfo'' in Italian), was a Roman ecclesiastical politician, papal legate to England and bishop of Norwich.
Early life
Pandulf was born ...
, the papal legate
300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate.
A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...
. A second election to the see was also unsuccessful in 1213.[
Gray was then elected ]Bishop of Worcester
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
on 20 January 1214,[Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 279] after resigning as chancellor in October 1214.[ His consecration as bishop took place on 5 October 1214.][ Gray was present at the issuing of ]Magna Carta
(Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...
in June 1215, and then once more travelled outside England, this time recruiting mercenaries for the king.[
Gray was elected ]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 ...
on 10 November 1215[Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 282] through the influence of John and Innocent III
Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 J ...
. John had wanted Walter, but the canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
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s of York felt that Walter was ill-educated, and elected Simon Langton, brother of Stephen Langton
Stephen Langton (c. 1150 – 9 July 1228) was an English Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Canterbury between 1207 and his death in 1228. The dispute between King John of England and Pope Innocent III over his ...
, 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 ...
. John objected, and wrote to Innocent III complaining of the election of the brother of one of his staunchest enemies, with which Innocent agreed.[Bartlett ''England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings'' pp. 406–407] Innocent was said to have finally decided to give York to Gray because of Gray's virginity, which the pope was said to have declared a great virtue for Gray.[Harvey "Episcopal Virginity" ''Journal of the History of Sexuality'' p. 282] However, Gray eventually paid more than 10,000 pounds to the pope in various fees to get his election confirmed.[Moorman ''Church Life'' p. 174] Gray was attending the Fourth Lateran Council
The Fourth Council of the Lateran or Lateran IV was convoked by Pope Innocent III in April 1213 and opened at the Lateran Palace in Rome on 11 November 1215. Due to the great length of time between the Council's convocation and meeting, many bi ...
[Moorman ''Church Life'' p. 237] when he secured the papal assent to his translation to York and received his pallium
The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolit ...
at the council.[
]
Royal service under Henry III
Gray was present at John's death and supported the papal legate, Guala Bicchieri
Guala Bicchieri ( 1150 – 1227) was an Italian diplomat, papal official and cardinal. He was the papal legate in England from 1216 to 1218, and took a prominent role in the politics of England during King John’s last years and Henry III’ ...
, who excommunicated all those opposed to the new king, Henry III, who was still a minor.[ John had faced an invasion from Prince Louis of France, who had been brought into the kingdom by rebellious English barons. Louis continued to try to seize the throne even after John's death.][Bartlett ''England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings'' pp. 66–67]
Gray was an important royal official during the minority of Henry, who often posted him as a diplomatic envoy. Gray performed the marriage ceremony of Henry's sister Joan Joan may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters
*:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine
* Joan (surname)
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*Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multip ...
to King Alexander II of Scotland
Alexander II (Medieval Gaelic: '; Modern Gaelic: '; 24 August 1198 – 6 July 1249) was King of Scotland from 1214 until his death. He concluded the Treaty of York (1237) which defined the boundary between England and Scotland, virtually unch ...
in 1221. In 1238 Gray mediated between the papal legate Otto of Tonengo
Otto of Tonengo (c. 1190 – 1250/1251) was an Italian papal diplomat and cardinal, first as deacon of San Nicola in Carcere from 1227 and then as bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina from 1244.
Otto had a legal education, and had joined the Roman ...
and the University of Oxford, and eventually secured a pardon for the university due to its role in the dispute. Henry also named Gray as guardian of England when the king went to France in 1242.[ In 1252, Walter hosted King Henry and King ]Alexander III of Scotland
Alexander III (Medieval ; Modern Gaelic: ; 4 September 1241 – 19 March 1286) was King of Scots from 1249 until his death. He concluded the Treaty of Perth, by which Scotland acquired sovereignty over the Western Isles and the Isle of Man. His ...
for the Christmas feasts at York, which event cost the archbishop 2,500 pounds.[Moorman ''Church Life'' p. 175]
As archbishop
Gray attempted to assert his archiepiscopal authority over Scotland, which was not only resisted by the Scots but by the Archbishops of Canterbury. Gray had little success in defending his rights to Scotland against either adversary.[ He also clashed with successive Archbishops of Canterbury over the right of the Archbishops of York to have symbols of their archiepiscopal authority displayed when visiting the archdiocese of Canterbury. This dispute eventually kept Gray from King Henry's second coronation in 1220.][
Gray's episcopal acta are the first to survive at York. They exist in two rolls, and this form may have been inspired by his experience with the chancery. Gray set up ]vicarage
A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage.
Function
A clergy house is typically ow ...
s in his archdiocese, inspected the monasteries under his episcopal authority, and worked to improve the finances of his cathedral chapter. He also gave vestment
Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Anglicans, and Lutherans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; this ...
s and altar equipment to his cathedral. Gray purchased the village 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 ...
, which became the residence of the archbishops. At Westminster, he purchased a house in 1244 that became York Place.[ He also endowed the ]church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* C ...
at 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 ...
,[Moorman ''Church Life'' p. 204] and translated the relic
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
s of Saint Wilfrid
Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and ...
to a new shrine at Ripon. Besides Ripon, he also gave to the construction of the churches at Beverley
Beverley is a market town, market and minster (church), minster town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre ...
and Southwell.[
During his episcopate, both the north and south ]transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...
s of 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 ...
were constructed. Work on the south transept began by 1225 and on the north one by 1234. Work may have finished by 1251, although the records are sparse and do not allow for an exact date of completion.[Hoey "13th-Century Transepts" ''Gesta'' p. 227] Traditionally, the south transept has been ascribed to Gray's patronage, although there is no direct evidence for this, merely the location of his tomb within that transept. The north transept was funded by John le Romeyn, the treasurer of the cathedral chapter and a close friend of Gray's.[Hoey "13th-Century Transepts" ''Gesta'' pp. 228–229] The motive for the construction of new transepts is not known for certain, but Lawrence Hoey speculated that a need to put the shrine of the local saint – William of York
William of York (late 11th century – 8 June 1154) was an English priest and twice Archbishop of York, before and after a rival, Henry Murdac. He was thought to be related to King Stephen of England, who helped to secure his election to the ...
– into a grand setting, the need to replace the previous transepts, and the ambition of Romeyn and Gray to display their wealth and power.[Hoey "13th-Century Transepts" ''Gesta'' p. 230]
Gray held a series of councils in his diocese from 1241 to 1255 which endeavoured to enforce clerical celibacy, keep benefices from being inherited, and improve the education and morals of the clergy.[ In 1221 Pope ]Honorius III
Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of importa ...
wrote to Gray and ordered the archbishop to stop the practice of clerical marriage and enforce clerical celibacy in his archdiocese. The pope threatened unspecified admonitions if his commands were not met.[Crosby ''King's Bishops'' p. 53]
Death and legacy
In 1255 Gray visited London to attend a meeting of parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
,[ and died at ]Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
on 1 May 1255.[ He was buried on 15 May 1255 at York Minster,][ His tomb still stands in the south transept, and is constructed of purbeck marble,][ and is thought to be the first canopied tomb in England.][ The tomb was restored in 1967–1968 and the coffin was opened, where a painted effigy was discovered on the coffin lid.][Ramm "Tombs of Archbishops Walter de Gray and Godfrey de Ludham" ''Archaeologia'' p. 102] Buried with Gray's skeleton was a chalice
A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning.
Re ...
, a paten
A paten or diskos is a small plate, used during the Mass. It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium.
Western usage
In many Western liturgical denominations, the p ...
which had been used as a lid for the chalice, a ring, and his crozier. His vestments and other textiles had mostly decayed, but a cushion that had been under his head and two other strips of cloth were still extant. These textiles, along with the metal objects, were removed before the coffin was resealed.[Ramm "Tombs of Archbishops Walter de Gray and Godfrey de Ludham" ''Archaeologia'' pp. 107–108]
Four nephews of Gray were also clerics: William Langton (or Rotherfield) was Dean of York
Dean may refer to:
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* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
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* ...
before being elected Archbishop of York but never consecrated, and Walter le Breton,[ Walter de Gray, and Henry de Gray, who were canons of York. Other more distant kinsmen continued to hold clerical and ecclesiastical offices throughout the 13th and early 14th centuries.][Crosby ''King's Bishops'' pp. 188–189] Walter Giffard
Walter Giffard (April 1279) was Lord Chancellor of England and Archbishop of York.
Family
Giffard was a son of Hugh Giffard of Boyton in Wiltshire,Greenway Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 6: York: Archbishops' a royal justice, ...
, a later Archbishop of York, was also a relative of some degree that is not precisely known.[
]
Notes
Citations
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Walter de
12th-century births
1255 deaths
Archbishops of York
Bishops of Lichfield
Bishops of Worcester
Lord chancellors of England
People from Norwich (district)
13th-century English Roman Catholic archbishops
Walter de Grey
Walter de Gray (died 1 May 1255) was an English prelate and statesman who was Archbishop of York from 1215 to 1255 and Lord Chancellor from 1205 to 1214. His uncle was John de Gray, who was a bishop and royal servant to King John of England. ...
Burials at York Minster