William de Wickwane (died 1285) 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 ...

, between the years 1279 and 1285.

Life

Wickwane's background is unknown, as is his place of education, but he was referred to as ''magister'' so he probably attended a university.Dobson "Wickwane, William de" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' He was

prebend A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

ary of North Newald in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

by 1265 and also held the prebend of Ripon.Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 6: York: Chancellors
' He was elected Archbishop of York on 22 June 1279, and consecrated on 17 September 1279Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 282 by Pope Nicholas III at

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...

.Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 6: York: Archbishops
' On his return to England, he had his primatial cross carried in front of him through 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 ...

, thus reviving a centuries-old controversy between York and Canterbury. He was enthroned 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 ...

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

1279. The matter of the cross involved Wickwane in a dispute with Archbishop

John Peckham John Peckham (c. 1230 – 8 December 1292) was Archbishop of Canterbury in the years 1279–1292. He was a native of Sussex who was educated at Lewes Priory and became a Friar Minor about 1250. He studied at the University of Paris under B ...

of Canterbury. While archbishop, in 1281 Wickwane tried make an archiepiscopal visitation of 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 ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

, but was forcibly prevented by the cathedral chapter, after which Wickwane

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 ...

the chapter and Robert of Holy Island, the

Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...

, and placed the entire diocese of Durham under

interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits persons, certain active Church individuals or groups from participating in certain rites, or that the rites and services of the church are banished from ...

. The chapter and bishop appealed to Rome, and the case dragged on for six years before eventually being settled by a compromise.Lawrence "Thirteenth Century" ''English Church and the Papacy'' pp. 143-144 He also wrote to

Bogo de Clare Bogo de Clare (21 July 1248 – October 1294) was a member of the Anglo-Norman de Clare family, as third son of Richard de Clare (1222–1262), 5th Earl of Hertford and 6th Earl of Gloucester. He was the brother of Gilbert and Thomas. Pluralist ...

while the later was still a

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 can ...

of York Minster, taking Bogo to task for the state of the vestments and other liturgical items in the cathedral.Moorman ''Church Life'' p. 202 Wickwane also attempted to keep clergy who kept concubines from performing clerical functions in the

diocese of York The Diocese of York is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers the city of York, the eastern part of North Yorkshire, and most of the East Riding of Yorkshire. The diocese is headed by the A ...

.Moorman '' Church Life'' p. 235 Wickwane died on 26 August or 27 August 1285 at

Pontigny Abbey Pontigny Abbey (french: Abbaye de Pontigny), the church of which in recent decades has also been the cathedral of the Mission de France, otherwise the Territorial Prelature of Pontigny (french: Cathédrale-abbatiale de Notre-Dame-de-l’Assompt ...

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

while on his way to the papal curia to plead his case against the monks of Durham. He was buried at the

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

abbey there in

Pontigny Pontigny () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. Sight Its principal distinction is as the home of Pontigny Abbey. See also *Communes of the Yonne department The following is a list of th ...

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Life

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