Henry de Lichton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Denomination | Roman Catholic Church |
| Senior posting | |
| See | Diocese of Aberdeen |
| Title | Bishop of Aberdeen |
| Period in office | 1422–1440 |
| Consecration | March 8, 1415, at Valencia (for Moray) |
| Predecessor | Gilbert de Greenlaw |
| Successor | Ingram Lindsay |
| Religious career | |
| Previous bishoprics | Moray (1414–1422) |
| Previous post | Archdeacon of Aberdeen |
| Personal | |
| Date of birth | 1369 x 1379 |
| Place of birth | Angus |
| Date of death | December 12 x December 14, 1440 |
| Place of death | Probably Aberdeen |
Henry de Lichton [de Lychtone, Leighton] (d. 1440), was a medieval Scottish prelate and diplomat, who, serving as Bishop of Moray (1414–1422) and Bishop of Aberdeen (1422–1440), became a great patron of the church, a cathedral builder and a writer. He also served King James I of Scotland as a diplomat in England, France and Italy.
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[edit] Early church career
He was born in the diocese of Brechin (probably Angus) somewhere between 1369 and 1379 to Henry and Janet Lichton.[1] He was exceptionally well educated for his time, attending the University of Orléans and possibly the University of St Andrews, earning licentiates in civil law and canon law, a bachelorate in canon law and a doctorate in canon law, all achieved betwen 1394 and 1415, while he attained an additional doctorate - in civil law - by 1436.[1] Lichton followed an ecclesiastical career simultaneously with his studies. The first notice of this career comes in 1392, when he was vicar of Markinch in Fife,[1] a vicariate of St Andrews Cathedral Priory.[2] He was a canon of the diocese of Moray by 1394,[3] and Archdeacon of Aberdeen by 1395, holding this position into the following year, 1396.[4]
[edit] Bishop of Moray
After the death of Bishop John de Innes in 1414, the chapter of Elgin Cathedral met to elect a new bishop, and on May 18 Lichton was elected Bishop of Moray.[5] Lichton travelled to Continental Europe to receive consecration, and was consecrated on March 8, 1415, at Valencia by Pope Benedict XIII.[6]
It can be speculated that Lichton enjoyed an amicable relationship with the most powerful magnate in the area, Alexander Stewart, Lord of Badenoch and Earl of Mar, as Lichton appears to have suffered no harassment, attended the latter's marriage to Isabella, Countess of Mar back in 1404 and procured for him an annulment of that marriage when Stewart chose to remarry in 1415.[1] Lichton was probably a kinsman of Stewart, as he is described as a kinsman of Stewart's uncle, Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, the man who ruled Scotland as governor until his death in 1420.[7]
[edit] Bishop of Aberdeen
After the death of Gilbert de Greenlaw, Bishop of Aberdeen, in 1421, Lichton was chosen as his successor; Lichton was translated to the diocese of Aberdeen in early April, 1422, on the authority of Pope Martin V.[8] Pope Martin delegated authority to Robert de Cardeny, Bishop of Dunkeld, and William Stephen, Bishops of Dunblane, in order to take Lichton's oath to the Papal see without forcing him to travel to Rome.[9] Lichton had already been in possession of the prebend of Kinkell in the Aberdeen diocese,[9] a former possession of the Knights Hospitaller but attached to Aberdeen Cathedral by Lichton's time.[10]
As Bishop of Aberdeen, Lichton was one of its greatest builders. The Aberdeen Registrum notes that he began to rebuild the cathedral,[11] and Hector Boece gives a description of his rebuilding, noting that although he finished the walls and two belltowers, the third belltower remained unfinished at his death.[12] Licthon also constructed a bew chapel dedicated to St John the Evangelist, and donated much of his own money to new service books and vestments, as well as to the reconstruction of the cathedral.[12] He also authored several legal and religious texts, though none have survived.[1]
[edit] Diplomatic career
Henry was frequently used as an ambassador by the king, James I of Scotland. According to the 16th century Bishop of Ross and historian John Lesley, Henry was one of the men sent to England to arrange the ransom of King James - held in England for most of his youth, not being released until 1424.[13] On June 9, 1425, he and other prelates received a safe-conduct from King Henry VI of England enabling them to travel through England on their way to visit Pope Martin V at Rome.[9] In 1428, Henry was the leader of an embassy sent to King Charles VII of France for a marriage proposal and to renew the Franco-Scottish alliance,[14] and in January 1430, was sent into England for discussion of various grievances.[15] On March 31, 1434, Lichton is found in attendance at the Council of Basel, though no more details of his activities there have survived.[1]
[edit] Death
Lichton's death cannot be precisely dated. It fell between November 11 (Martinmas), 1440, and January 11, 1441;[16] it is probable that he died on either December 12 or December 14, because these were the anniversaries given to him in the 15th century and the 16th century respectively.[12] He was buried in his new chapel, the one dedicated to St John the Evangelist.[12] As a churchman, Lichton could never marry and did not; he did however father bastard, a daughter named Janet, who comes into the records as receiving papal dispensation to marry in 1432.[1]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g Ditchburn, "Lichton , Henry (1369x79–1440)".
- ^ Cowan, Parishes, p. 143.
- ^ Ditchburn, "Lichton , Henry (1369x79–1440)"; he latter is known to have held Inverkeithny, Strathbogie, a prebend of Moray since the episcopate of Bishop Andrew back in the 1220s; see Dowden, Bishops of Scotland, p. 120, and Cowan, Parishes, p. 89.
- ^ Watt, Fasti Ecclesiae, p. 19.
- ^ Watt, Fasti Ecclesiae, p. 215; there is record of the election, though no record of the result; the result is guessed at by Lichton's unopposed accession to the bishopric; see Dowden, Bishops of Scotland, p. 158.
- ^ Dowden, Bishops of Scotland, p. 157; Watt, Fasti Ecclesiae, p. 215.
- ^ Ditchburn, "Lichton , Henry (1369x79–1440)"; Dowden, Bishops of Scotland, p. 120.
- ^ Dowden, Bishops of Scotland, p. 120; Watt, Fasti Ecclesiae, p. 3.
- ^ a b c Dowden, Bishops of Scotland, p. 120.
- ^ Cowan, Parishes, p. 113; Innes, Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis, p. xxxvii, says he was chanter or precentor by this prebend, but Watt, Fasti Ecclesiae, pp. 9-12, fails to list him among their number, and gives the church of Auchterless as the chanter's prebend.
- ^ Dowden, Bishops of Scotland, p. 120, citing Innes, Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis, vol. ii, p. 120.
- ^ a b c d Dowden, Bishops of Scotland, p. 121.
- ^ Innes, Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis, vol. i, p. xxxvii; for details of James' reign and time as a hostage, see Michael Brown's study, James I, (East Linton, 1994).
- ^ Ditchburn, "Lichton , Henry (1369x79–1440)"; Innes, Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis, vol. i, p. xxxvii.
- ^ Dowden, Bishops of Scotland, pp. 120-1.
- ^ Watt, Fasti Ecclesiae, p. 3.
[edit] References
- Brown, Michael, James I, (East Linton, 1994)
- Cowan, Ian B., The Parishes of Medieval Scotland, Scottish Record Society, Vol. 93, (Edinburgh, 1967)
- Ditchburn, David, "Lichton , Henry (1369x79–1440)", in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 23 Feb 2007
- Dowden, John, The Bishops of Scotland, ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912)
- Innes, Cosmo, Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis: Ecclesie Cathedralis Aberdonensis Regesta Que Extant in Unum Collecta, Vol. 1, (Edinburgh, 1845)
- Keith, Robert, An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops: Down to the Year 1688, (London, 1924)
- Watt, D.E.R., Fasti Ecclesiae Scotinanae Medii Aevi ad annum 1638, 2nd Draft, (St Andrews, 1969)
| Religious Posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas Trail |
Archdeacon of Aberdeen 1395–1396 |
Succeeded by David Falconer |
| Preceded by William de Spynie |
Bishop of Moray 1414–1422 |
Succeeded by John de Innes |
| Preceded by Gilbert de Greenlaw |
Bishop of Aberdeen 1422–1440 |
Succeeded by Ingram Lindsay |
