Walter Mauclerk (or Walter Mauclerc; died 1248) was a medieval

Bishop of Carlisle The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York. The diocese covers the county of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District. The see is in the city of Car ...

and

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 ...

of England.

Life

Mauclerk's origins are unknown, although he had a brother who was

prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

of Reading Abbey. Another kinsman, possibly a nephew, Robert Barri was named prior of Carlisle Cathedral while Walter was bishop. He is first recorded as a financial clerk in Normandy in 1202, and then later that same year as holding a church in

Falaise Falaise may refer to: Places * Falaise, Ardennes, France * Falaise, Calvados, France ** The Falaise pocket was the site of a battle in the Second World War * La Falaise, in the Yvelines ''département'', France * The Falaise escarpment in Quebec ...

. With the loss of Normandy, he returned to England and the king's court,Vincent "Mauclerk, Walter" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' and received a prebend in Exeter in 1203. In 1204 and 1205 he helped administer Lincolnshire, collecting tallage other taxes.Pegues "''Clericus'' in Legal Administration" ''English Historical Review'' pp. 534–535 He served King

John of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Emp ...

in Rome as an envoy to Pope

Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 J ...

in 1214 where he was expected to neutralise any baronial agents that might be sent. At the time, he was still a royal clerk.Jones ''King John and Magna Carta'' p. 50 In 1215, he was sent to Ireland, although only for a short time. He served as a

royal justice Royal justices were an innovation in the law reforms of the Angevin kings of England. Royal justices were roving officials of the king, sent to seek out notorious robbers and murderers and bring them to justice. The first important step dates fro ...

in the Midlands in 1218, and as a royal justice in Nottingham in 1219, and in 1221 appointed as a forest justice in York, but was instead sent to Cumberland. He served as Sheriff of Cumberland from 1222 to 1233.Carpenter "Decline of the Curial Sheriff" ''English Historical Review'' p. 11 He was a canon of Carlisle CathedralGreenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 2: Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces): Carlisle: Bishops
' before he was elected to the see of Carlisle about 22 August 1223 and was consecrated that winter.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 235 Mauclerk continued to serve King

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 a ...

, going to

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in 1225 as part of a diplomatic mission attempting to arrange a marriage between the king and a daughter of the duke of Austria. In 1227 he was in Poitou on the king's business. He was Treasurer from 1228 to 1233,Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 103 when he was expelled from office even though he had been granted the office for life. This was a side effect of the fall from power of Hubert de Burgh during King Henry III's reign.Powell and Wallis ''House of Lords'' p. 154 However, with the fall from power of Peter des Roches Walter returned to royal service. In 1235 he was once more in charge of an embassy attempting to find a bride for King Henry, this time to

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

for a daughter of the count of

Ponthieu Ponthieu (, ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville. History Ponthieu play ...

. Mauclerk resigned the

see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

on 26 June 1246 and died about 28 October 1248 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 resigned the bishopric to become a Dominican at Oxford. During his time as bishop, he set the financial affairs of his diocese on a firm footing, and left most of his property to the diocese or to the Dominicans at Oxford.

Citations

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mauclerk, Walter 1248 deaths Bishops of Carlisle Lord High Treasurers of England 13th-century English Roman Catholic bishops High Sheriffs of Cumberland Year of birth unknown