Alexander de Stavenby (or Alexander of Stainsby; died 26 December 1238) was a medieval Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield. Alexander was probably a native of Stainsby,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

, and had two brothers, William and Gilbert, who held land there. He may have studied under

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 ...

, later

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 Just ...

, as Langton was from a village less than 10 miles away.Vincent "Stainsby , Alexander of" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' Alexander taught theology at

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...

before his appointment to the episcopate.Moorman ''Church Life in England'' p. 163 He may have been a teacher of

Dominic Dominic is a name common among Roman Catholics and other Latin-Romans as a male given name. Originally from the late Roman-Italic name "Dominicus", its translation means "Lordly", "Belonging to God" or "of the Master". Variations include: Domini ...

, the founder of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of ...

, at Toulouse.Moorman ''Church Life in England'' p. 368 He also taught at

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

and was named a chamber clerk for 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 ...

. Alexander was nominated as bishop about 13 April 1224, and consecrated on 14 April 1224.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 253 While bishop, Alexander urged the people in his diocese to receive Communion three times a year.Moorman ''Church Life in England'' p. 71 He also issued rules to prohibit his clergy from entering a tavern.Moorman ''Church Life in England'' p. 233 He wrote a set of statutes for his diocese, which survive, along with other works. Only two of the other works survive, one on confession and another on the seven deadly sins. While he was bishop, both Coventry and Lichfield were named as the seats of the see, with the election of a new bishop taking place by the chapters of Coventry or Lichfield in rotation. Alexander served

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry ...

as a diplomat, undertaking many missions to Rome and France on behalf of the king. He also negotiated with envoys for

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (German: ''Friedrich''; Italian: ''Federico''; Latin: ''Federicus''; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jer ...

at Antwerp and spent time in Wales trying to renew truces. In 1234 the bishop was accused of supporting Richard Marshall's rebellion, but he cleared his name before the court. Alexander was opposed to the administration of

Peter des Roches Peter des Roches (died 9 June 1238) ( Latinised as ''Peter de Rupibus'' ("Peter from the rocks")) was bishop of Winchester in the reigns of King John of England and his son Henry III. He was not an Englishman, but rather a native of the Tourain ...

and at one point excommunicated those whom he called the "king's true enemies", which many took to include Roches. Alexander died on 26 December 1238 at

Andover, Hampshire Andover ( ) is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the Test, and is situated alongside the major A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, west of the town of Basi ...

, and was buried in

Lichfield Cathedral Lichfield Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom with three spires (together with Truro Cathedral and St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh), and the only medie ...

. A chantry was established in his memory near the altar of

Saint Chad Chad of Mercia (died 2 March 672) was a prominent 7th-century Anglo-Saxon Catholic monk who became abbot of several monasteries, Bishop of the Northumbrians and subsequently Bishop of the Mercians and Lindsey People. He was later canonised ...

Citations

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stavenby, Alexander de 13th-century English Roman Catholic bishops Bishops of Lichfield Year of birth unknown Alexander de Stavenby