Lewis Charlton (chancellor)
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Lewis de Charleton (died 23 May 1369) was a medieval
Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. The episcopal see is centred in the Hereford, City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in the Hereford Cathedr ...
in England.


Life

Charleton was educated, it is said, at both Oxford and Cambridge, but was more closely connected with Oxford, of which he became a doctor of civil law and a licentiate, if not also a doctor, in theology. In 1336, he became prebendary of
Hereford Cathedral Hereford Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Hereford in Hereford, England. A place of worship has existed on the site of the present building since the 8th century or earlier. The present building was begun in 1079. S ...
, of which see his kinsman Thomas Charlton was then bishop. He next appears, with his brother Humphrey, as holding prebends in the collegiate church of
Pontesbury Pontesbury is a village and civil parish in Shropshire and is approximately eight miles southwest of Shrewsbury. In the 2011 census, the village had a population of 1,873 and the parish had a population of 3,227. The village of Minsterley is ju ...
, of which Baron Charlton was patron. In 1340, Adam of Coverton petitione to the king against him on the ground of obstructing him in collecting tithes belonging to St. Michael's, Shrewsbury. A royal commission was appointed to inquire into the case, which in 1345 was still pending. Lewis had apparently succeeded Thomas the bishop to this prebend, and on his resignation in 1359 was succeeded by Humphrey, who held all three prebends in succession. In 1348, he appears as signing, as doctor of civil law, an indenture between the town and university of Oxford that they should have a common assize and assay of weights and measures. He was probably continuously resident as a teacher at Oxford; of which university his brother became chancellor some time before 1354. It is sometimes, but without authority, asserted that Lewis himself was chancellor. He constantly acted, however, in important business in conjunction with his brother. In 1354, a great feud broke out between town and university, culminating in the
St Scholastica Day riot The St Scholastica Day riot took place in Oxford, England, on 10 February 1355, Saint Scholastica's Day. The disturbance began when two students from the University of Oxford complained about the quality of wine served to them in the Swindlest ...
and at the brothers’ petition the king conditionally liberated some townsmen from prison and granted his protection for a year to the scholars. For these and other services they were enrolled in the album of benefactors, and in 1356 an annual mass for the two was directed to be henceforth celebrated on St. Edmund’s day. William of Wykeham is said to have been among Charlton’s pupils in mathematics. Walcott, M. E. C., ''William of Wykeham and His Colleges'' ( London: D. Nutt, 1852)
p. 7
Charlton’s Inn took its name from one of the brothers or from some others of the name about the same time connected with) the university. At last Lewis was raised by revision of Pope Innocent VI to the
bishopric of Hereford The Diocese of Hereford is a Church of England diocese based in Hereford, covering Herefordshire, southern Shropshire and a few parishes within Worcestershire in England, and a few parishes within Powys and Monmouthshire in Wales. The cathedral i ...
(10 September 1361), having already been elected by a part of the chapter, although the preference of another part for John Barnet, archdeacon of London, had probably necessitated the reference to Avignon. Charlton was consecrated at
Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
on 3 October of the same year. Fryde, et al., ''Handbook of British Chronology''
p. 250
Charleton's presence there rather suggests some mission or office at the papal Curia. On 3 November, he made the profession of obedience and received his spiritualities of Archbishop
Simon Islip Simon Islip (died 1366) was an English prelate. He served as Archbishop of Canterbury between 1349 and 1366. Early life Islip was the uncle of William Whittlesey. He was a cousin of Walter de Islip, Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer:Ball, F. E ...
at Oxford, and on 14 November his temporalities were restored. Little is recorded of his acts as bishop. His attention to his parliamentary duties is shown by his appearing as trier, of petitions in 1362, 1363, 1365, 1366, and 1368. Charleton died on 23 May 1369, and was buried in the south-east transept of his cathedral, where his mutilated monument still remains. He left by his will his mitre and some vestments, together with £40, to the cathedral.


Family

Lewis de Charleton's brother
Humphrey de Cherlton Humphrey de Cherlton (or Humphrey de Charlton) was an English medieval churchman and university chancellor. De Cherlton was a Doctor of Civil Law. Between 1354 and 1357, he was Chancellor of the University of Oxford.Anon., ''The Oxford Ten-Year ...
was the
Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of Oxford University from 1354–7. Lewis de Charleton himself may have been chancellor of the university in 1357.


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References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Charleton, Lewis De Year of birth unknown 1369 deaths Bishops of Hereford Chancellors of the University of Oxford 14th-century English Roman Catholic bishops