William Ayermin (or Ayermine) (died 27 March 1336) was a medieval
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 t ...
.
Biography
Ayermin, was descended from a family settled at Osgodby, Lincolnshire. He was the eldest of three brothers, of whom
Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...
obtained many ecclesiastical offices, and
Adam became archdeacon of Norfolk. In early life William was probably a clerk of the exchequer.
Ayermin sat in the
Edward II's Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
at
Carlisle for St. Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury in 1306-7. He also recorded the proceedings of
Edward II's parliament at Lincoln in 1316. In August of that year he became master of the rolls and he temporarily performed for many years before and after this date the duties of both the keeper of the great seal and of the chancellor. In 1317 he was made guardian of the Jewish converts' house for life, although previously the office had only been held during the king's pleasure.
In 1319 Ayermin joined the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of Ely, and other ecclesiastics, who with a force of 8,000 men attempted to resist an invasion of the Scots in the North during the
First War of Scottish Independence
The First War of Scottish Independence was the first of a series of wars between English and Scottish forces. It lasted from the English invasion of Scotland in 1296 until the ''de jure'' restoration of Scottish independence with the Treaty ...
. The army was defeated at the
Battle of Myton
The Battle of Myton, nicknamed the Chapter of Myton or The White Battle because of the number of clergy involved, was a major engagement in the First Scottish War of Independence, fought in Yorkshire on 20 September 1319.
Berwick Falls
In Apr ...
near the river
Swale
Swale or Swales may refer to:
Topography
* Swale (landform), a low tract of land
** Bioswale, landform designed to remove silt and pollution
** Swales, found in the formation of Hummocky cross-stratification
Geography
* River Swale, in North ...
with great slaughter. William was taken prisoner, and was not released for several months.
Around about 26 May 1324 Ayermin resigned the
mastership of the rolls to his brother Richard, and became
keeper of the king's privy seal. In the church he meanwhile secured much preferment, although he was always manoeuvring to obtain more. He was rector of Wearmouth, and
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,
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
Hereford, Lincoln, York, Salisbury, and Dublin. Ayermin was elected
Bishop of Carlisle on 7 January 1325, following the death of
John de Halton
John de Halton (died 1324), also called John de Halghton, was an English priest and Bishop of Carlisle from 1292 to 1324.
Life
Little is known of Halton's background, but he attended Oxford University.Summerson "Halton, John" ''Oxford Dictionar ...
but was never consecrated as his election was quashed on 13 February 1325 and
John Ross was subsequently appointed in his stead.
[Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 235]
In July 1325 Ayermin is said by some authorities to have been staying at Rome, to have there received the news of the death of Salmon, bishop of Norwich, and to have straight away obtained
Pope John XXII's nomination to the vacant see, regardless of the known intention of
Edward II to bestow the bishopric on his chancellor,
Robert Baldock
Robert Baldock (or de Baldock; died 28 May 1327) was the Lord Privy Seal and Lord Chancellor of England, during the reign of King Edward II of England.
Career
Baldock was archdeacon of Middlesex when he was named Controller of the Wardrobe a ...
. But there seems little doubt that William was living in France at the time, engaged in settling a dispute between the kings of England and France as to the possession of land in
Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...
. His conduct of this business appears to have displeased Edward II, who had instructed him to offer certain concessions to France, which he failed to do. He had, however, friends at Rome, who undoubtedly obtained for him the papal nomination on 19 July 1325 to the
see of Norwich, and he was consecrated on 6 February 1327.
[Sidney Lee states he was "consecrated bishop in France, 15 Sept. 1325, by the pope's agents against Edward's wish" .]
In the course of 1326 year Ayermin returned to England, after frequent refusals to answer the king's summons to explain his recent conduct, he appears to have been reconciled to Edward II ( in spite of the suspicions with which the Despencers and Baldock viewed him) and was acting Keeper of the Great Seal, usually known as the
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. Th ...
of England, from 1326 to 1327. He vigorously supported
Edward III on the abdication of Edward II, and held the office of
Lord High Treasurer
The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in ...
from 1331 to 1332.
Ayermin died 27 March 1336, at his house at Charing, near London, and was buried in Norwich Cathedral. In the opinion of
Sidney Lee
Sir Sidney Lee (5 December 1859 – 3 March 1926) was an English biographer, writer, and critic.
Biography
Lee was born Solomon Lazarus Lee in 1859 at 12 Keppel Street, Bloomsbury, London. He was educated at the City of London School and at ...
writing in the ''
Dictionary of National Biography'' the old verdict on his career, which stigmatised him as "crafty covetous, and treasonable", seems substantially just.
Citations
References
*
Attribution
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayermin, William
Bishops of Norwich
Lords Privy Seal
Lord chancellors of England
1336 deaths
Lord High Treasurers of England
Year of birth unknown