William of Nottingham, OFM ( la, Guilelmus de Nottingham or '; 1330 1336) was an English

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

friar who served as the seventeenth Minister Provincial of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

(–1330). __NOTOC__

Life

From 1312 to 1314, William served as the 39th reader ( la, lector) at the Franciscan college 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 ...

. He later succeeded Richard of Conington, becoming the 17th Minister Provincial of

. (–1330). William attended the Franciscan

General Chapter A chapter ( la, capitulum or ') is one of several bodies of clergy in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Nordic Lutheran churches or their gatherings. Name The name derives from the habit of convening monks or canons for the read ...

in 1322 and had royal permission to travel abroad in 1324 and 1325. In 1330, he was ordered by

Pope John XXII Pope John XXII ( la, Ioannes PP. XXII; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Pope, elected by ...

to extradict the friars Peter de Saxlingham, John de Hequinton,

Henry de Costeseye Henry may refer to: People * Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portuga ...

, and

Thomas de Helmedon Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

. They were all arrested 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 ...

on charges of heresy. William died in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

sometime between 1330 and 1336 and was buried in the same Greyfriars cemetery that later held

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

. For a time, it was thought that his body may have been the one discovered in a double stone-and-lead coffin near Richard III's remains.. However, continued investigation established that tomb belonged to an as-yet-unknown elderly woman. He was succeeded as Minister Provincial by

Roger of Denemed Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ...

Works

William was the actual author of the ''Commentary on the Gospels'' that was formerly attributed to the earlier William of Nottingham. Based on

Clement of Llanthony Clement of Llanthony ( fl. mid-12th century) was an Anglo-Norman clergyman and theologian who became prior of Llanthony Priory. Clement became a canon at Llanthony at a young age, and was educated there. Having held the office of sub-prior, he b ...

's '' One from Four'', the postill was well known for centuries and survives in numerous manuscripts. His ''Sentences'' ( la, Sententiae) survives in a single copy and preserves various statements made by

John Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus ( – 8 November 1308), commonly called Duns Scotus ( ; ; "Duns the Scot"), was a Scottish Catholic priest and Franciscan friar, university professor, philosopher, and theologian. He is one of the four most important ...

and his classmates while at Oxford, where they immediately preceded William. One section thoroughly and temperately covers the scholastic opinions on the eternity of the world prior to the 1316 disputation, reaching the conservative conclusion that nothing truly infinite exists within

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

's Creation. In his capacity as the Franciscan lector at Oxford, he was responsible for copying five large volumes of postills for Sir Hugh of Nottingham, who was a clerk at the

Royal Exchequer In the Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's ''Transaction account, current account'' (i.e., ...

Notes

Gallery

MS Laud Misc 165 fol 268.png , William lecturing his students. MS Laud Misc 165 fol 298.png , William lecturing his students. MS Laud Misc 165 fol 356.png , William lecturing his students. MS Laud Misc 165 fol 393.png , William lecturing his students. MS Laud Misc 165 fol 467.png , William lecturing his students. MS Laud Misc 165 fol 509.png , William lecturing his students.MS Laud Misc. 165, fol. 509.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:William of Nottingham 02 English Franciscans Ministers Provincial of England 1330s deaths Year of birth unknown