Walter Giffard

For other people named Walter Giffard, see Walter Giffard (disambiguation).

Walter Giffard
Archbishop of York
Appointed	15 October 1266
Installed	1 November 1266
Term ended	late April 1279
Predecessor	Godfrey Ludham
Successor	William de Wickwane
Other posts	Bishop of Bath and Wells
Orders
Consecration	by Peter d'Acquablanca
Personal details
Born	c. 1225
Died	April 1279 York
Buried	York Minster
Parents	Hugh Giffard Sibyl de Cormeilles

Walter Giffard (c.1225 – April 1279) was Lord Chancellor of England and Archbishop of York.

Family

A picture of Henry III taken from Cassell's History of England published circa 1902. Henry entrusted his son Edward to the care of Walter's parents.

Giffard was a son of Hugh Giffard of Boyton in Wiltshire,^[1] a royal justice, by Sibyl, a daughter and co-heiress of Walter de Cormeilles. He was born about 1225, and may have been the oldest son.^[2] Hugh and Sybil were entrusted with the care of the young Prince Edward in 1239.^[3] In 1256 Giffard and his mother received the king's licence to live in Boyton Castle.^[2] Giffard's brother was Bishop Godfrey Giffard, who was Bishop of Worcester^[1] and also Lord Chancellor of England; his sister Mabel was the Abbess of Shaftesbury Abbey. Walter was also a kinsman of William of Bitton I, who was Walter's predecessor at Bath.^[4] The family was also related to Walter de Gray, who was Archbishop of York from 1215 to 1255.^[2]

Career

The death of Simon de Montfort, from The History of France from the Earliest Times to the Year 1789 published in 1883. After the death of Montfort at the Battle of Evesham, Giffard was appointed Chancellor.

Giffard studied at Cambridge University and took his master of arts at Oxford University. While at university Adam Marsh wrote to another scholar praising Giffard's scholarly skills.^[2] Giffard took holy orders and became a canon and archdeacon of Wells and a papal chaplain.^[5] On 22 May 1264 he was elected Bishop of Bath and Wells and received the temporalities on 1 September 1264. As the Archbishop of Canterbury, Boniface of Savoy was in France, Giffard travelled to Paris to be consecrated at Notre-Dame on 4 January 1265.^[4]^[6] The service was performed by Peter d'Acquablanca, the Bishop of Hereford, Giffard having first sworn that he would not take part against King Henry III. However, the barons were angered that he had ventured abroad against their will and ravaged nearly all his manors. Archbishop Boniface ordered him to excommunicate Simon de Montfort the Earl of Leicester and his party on Giffard's return to England.^[2] Following the Battle of Evesham, on 10 August 1265 King Henry made Giffard Chancellor and awarded him a stipend of five hundred marks a year.^[7] In August of the following year he was appointed one of the arbitrators for drawing up the award of Kenilworth which provided the disinherited lords a means of recovering their estates.

On 15 October 1266 Giffard was appointed by Pope Clement IV to the Archbishopric of York – as part of this elevation he resigned the chancellorship^[7] and was enthroned on 1 November 1266, receiving his temporalities on Boxing day.^[6] Soon after his enthronement he became involved in a dispute with Archbishop Boniface of Canterbury about the right to carry his cross erect in the southern province, and ended up making an appeal to Rome.^[2]

Although Giffard had family wealth and much money associated with his office, he could not keep clear of debt. In the years after his appointment he paid 1600 marks to Italian money-lenders, 550 marks to certain merchants of Paris, and in 1270 sent 200 marks to his agents at Rome to expedite his affairs, hoping, "...for the present to keep out of the whirlpool of usury." Despite his own financial problems he seems to have been kind to his relatives – paying for his nephew's education^[2] and giving his brother Godfrey the Archdeaconry of York.^[8] His register contains many gifts to the poor, and he helped support schoolmasters at Beverley.^[9] He also supported the scholarly careers of two of his successors at York, John le Romeyn and William Greenfield.^[2]

On 13 October 1269 Giffard officiated at the translation of Edward the Confessor's relics.^[2] When leaving England, Prince Edward (who was then heir to the throne) appointed him by will in 1270 as one of the tutors of his sons. He also assisted Edward in bringing John de Warenne the Earl of Surrey to justice for the murder of Alan la Zouche at Westminster. Upon the death of Henry III on 20 November 1272 the Great Seal was delivered to the Archbishop as first Lord of the Council – in order for him, Roger Mortimer and Robert Burnell to be appointed to govern the Kingdom until the new King's return to the country.^[10]

Death

Giffard died at York on or about 22 April 1279,^[6] and he was buried in York Minster, probably in the choir.^[1] Archbishop Thoresby later removed his body to a tomb which he had erected in the presbytery.^[2] Contemporary reports state that Giffard was a handsome, happy and genial man who was fond of luxury – as a result of this in later life he grew fat which affected both his health and his temper. He was noted at the time as being a man of high character who was able and industrious.

Citations

1 2 3 Greenway Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 6: York: Archbishops
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Dobson "Giffard, Walter" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
↑ Prestwich Edward I pp. 5–6
1 2 Greenway Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 7: Bath and Wells: Bishops
↑ Greenway Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 7: Bath and Wells: Unidentified Prebendaries
1 2 3 Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 282
1 2 Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 85
↑ Greenway Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 6: York: Archdeacons: York
↑ Moorman Church Life pp. 205–207
↑ Chrimes Introduction to the Administrative History p. 130

References

Chrimes, S. B. (1966). An Introduction to the Administrative History of Mediaeval England (Third ed.). Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell. OCLC 270094959.
Dobson, R. B. (2004). "Giffard, Walter (c.1225–1279)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/10654. Retrieved 12 November 2007. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third Edition, revised ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
Greenway, Diana E. (1999). Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 6: York: Archdeacons: York. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 22 September 2007.
Greenway, Diana E. (1999). Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 6: York: Archbishops. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 22 September 2007.
Greenway, Diana E. (2001). Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 7: Bath and Wells: Bishops. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 22 September 2007.
Greenway, Diana E. (2001). Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 7: Bath and Wells: Unidentified Prebendaries. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 22 September 2007.
Moorman, John R. H. (1955). Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century (Revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. OCLC 213820968.
Prestwich, Michael (1997). Edward I. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-07157-4.

External links

Godfrey Giffard's Will

Political offices
Preceded by Ralph Sandwich (Keeper of the Great Seal)	Lord Chancellor 1265–1266	Succeeded by Godfrey Giffard
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by William of Bitton I	Bishop of Bath and Wells 1264–1266	Succeeded by William of Bitton II
Preceded by Bonaventure	Archbishop of York 1266–1279	Succeeded by William de Wickwane

Bishops and Archbishops of York

Pre-Reformation Bishops	Paulinus Chad Wilfrid Bosa John of Beverley Wilfrid II

Pre-Reformation Archbishops	Egbert Æthelbert Eanbald I Eanbald II Wulfsige Wigmund Wulfhere Æthelbald Hrotheweard Wulfstan I Oscytel Edwald Oswald Ealdwulf Wulfstan II Ælfric Puttoc Cynesige Ealdred Thomas of Bayeux Gerard Thomas II Thurstan William FitzHerbert Henry Murdac William FitzHerbert Roger de Pont L'Évêque Geoffrey Plantagenet Simon Langton Walter de Gray Sewal de Bovil Godfrey Ludham William Langton Bonaventure Walter Giffard William de Wickwane John le Romeyn Henry of Newark Thomas of Corbridge William Greenfield William Melton William Zouche John of Thoresby Alexander Neville Thomas Arundel Robert Waldby Richard le Scrope Thomas Langley Robert Hallam Henry Bowet Philip Morgan Richard Fleming John Kemp William Booth George Neville Lawrence Booth Thomas Rotherham Thomas Savage Christopher Bainbridge Thomas Wolsey

Post-Reformation Archbishops	Edward Lee Robert Holgate Nicholas Heath Thomas Young Edmund Grindal Edwin Sandys John Piers Matthew Hutton Tobias Matthew George Montaigne Samuel Harsnett Richard Neile John Williams Accepted Frewen Richard Sterne John Dolben Thomas Lamplugh John Sharp Sir William Dawes Bt Lancelot Blackburne Thomas Herring Matthew Hutton John Gilbert Robert Hay Drummond William Markham Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt Thomas Musgrave Charles Longley William Thomson William Magee William Maclagan Cosmo Lang William Temple Cyril Garbett Michael Ramsey Donald Coggan Stuart Blanch John Habgood David Hope John Sentamu

Bishops of Bath and Wells

Medieval	see renamed from Bath Roger of Salisbury (previously Bishop of Bath) William of Bitton Walter Giffard William of Bitton (nephew) Robert Burnell William of March Walter Haselshaw John Droxford Ralph of Shrewsbury John Barnet John Harewell Walter Skirlaw Ralph Ergham Richard Clifford Henry Bowet Nicholas Bubwith John Stafford Thomas Beckington Robert Stillington Richard Foxe Oliver King

Early modern	Cardinal Adriano Castellesi Cardinal Thomas Wolsey John Clerk William Knight William Barlow Gilbert Bourne Gilbert Berkeley Thomas Godwin John Still James Montague Arthur Lake William Laud Leonard Mawe Walter Curle William Piers Robert Creighton Peter Mews Thomas Ken Richard Kidder George Hooper John Wynne Edward Willes Charles Moss

Late modern	Richard Beadon George Law Hon Richard Bagot The Lord Auckland Lord Arthur Hervey George Kennion Wynne Willson Francis Underhill William Wand Harold Bradfield Edward Henderson John Bickersteth George Carey Jim Thompson Peter Price Peter Maurice, Bishop suffragan of Taunton (acting diocesan) Peter Hancock

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 314790996

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