Robert Burnell

Infobox Archbishop of Canterbury
Full name = Robert Burnell


birth_name =
consecration = never consecrated
began= never enthroned
term_end = about 29 January 1279
predecessor = Robert Kilwardby
successor = John Peckham
birth_date =
death_date = 25 October 1292
deathplace = Berwick
tomb = Wells Cathedral

Robert Burnell (died 25 October 1292) was an English bishop who served as Lord Chancellor of England in the years 1274–1292. A native of Shropshire, he served as a royal clerk before switching to the service of the future King Edward I of England. He served as regent after the death of King Henry III of England while Edward was still on Crusade. He was twice elected Archbishop of Canterbury, but his personal life prevented his confirmation by the papacy. He was elected as Bishop of Bath and Wells in 1275, after King Edward had appointed him chancellor in 1274. Burnell continued to enjoy the king's trust until the bishop's death in 1292. Burnell went abroad on diplomatic missions for Edward, and for a time governed Gascony. Burnell's personal life included keeping a long-term mistress, who was rumored to have borne him four sons.

Early life

Burnell was born at Acton Burnell in Shropshire, first worked as a clerk in the royal chancery. [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=1308 British History Online Prebends of Holme] accessed on September 11, 2007] He was probably the son of Roger Burnell, who died about 1259. Robert had three brothers, two of whom died fighting the Welsh in 1282, while the third, Hugh, died in 1286. Hugh's son Philip was Robert's eventual heir.Harding "Burnell, Robert (d. 1292)" "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/4055 Online Edition, Oct 2007] accessed 8 November 2007] Burnell started his career in the royal chancery but left the chancery to work in Prince Edward's household.Chrimes "An Introduction to the Administrative History of Mediaeval England" p. 134] By 1257 Burnell had switched to the prince's household, and was often with the prince.Prestwich "Edward I" p. 23] As a reward for his service, Burnell was awarded the prebend of Holme in the diocese of York sometime before 1267 and was named Archdeacon of York in December of 1270. [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=6444 British History Online Archdeacons of York] accessed on September 11, 2007]

Prince Edward tried to get Burnell elected to the Archbishopric of Canterbury in 1270, but was frustrated when the chapter's members elected William Chillenden, their prior, instead. In the end, Pope Gregory X set aside Chillenden and installed his own choice, Robert Kilwardby, in the see.Prestwich "Edward I" p. 73] Burnell did not accompany the prince on Crusade in late 1270. Thus he was still in England when Henry III died in November 1272. Burnell acted as one of the regents of the kingdom until August 1274, when the prince, now king, returned from Palestine. With the king's return to England, Burnell was made chancellor.Fryde "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 85]

Chancellor and bishop

On 23 January 1275 Burnell was elected to the see of Bath and Wells. He received the temporalities of the see on 19 March 1275 and was consecrated on 7 April 1275. Three years later Edward once more tried to secure the see of Canterbury for his favourite. Burnell was elected to the archbishopric in June or July 1278, but the election was quashed by Pope Nicholas III in January of 1279.Fryde "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 233] The bishop's second failure to obtain this dignity was probably due to his lifestyle, which included keeping a mistress. His lifestyle also partly accounts for the hostility between himself and the man who was eventually elected archbishop, John Peckham. Edward made one last attempt in early 1280 to promote his friend to a wealthier see, when Burnell was nominated to become Bishop of Winchester. The election, however, was quashed on 28 June 1280,Fryde "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 276] once again by Pope Nicholas III. [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=33876 British History Online Bishops of Winchester] accessed on 2 November 2007]

Burnell was the chief and most influential adviser of Edward I during the first half of Edward's reign.Prestwich "Edward I" p. 138] As part of his duties, Burnell spent most of his time in attendance on the king. Burnell heard many requests and petitions from people who desired patronage or other advancements, and was diligent and active in taking care of routine business.Prestwich "Edward I" p. 233] The bishop took a leading role in the legistlation of King Edward. The king's major legislative acts mainly date to Burnell's tenure of the office of chancellor, from 21 September 1274 until the bishop's death.Fryde "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 228] It was during Burnell's time in office that a great effort was made by Edward and the government to reassert royal rights that were felt to have been usurped by the king's subjects. These efforts were made under writs of "Quo warranto",#tag:ref|Latin for "by what warrant?"|group=notes which asked the recipient what royal grant or warrant gives the recipient the authority for a right or a power. They were first issued in 1278, after earlier attempts to recover royal rights through Parliament succeeded in swamping that body in too much work. Burnell was instrumental in the enforcement of the "Quo Warranto" writs, and also had a large hand in the legislative work enacted in Edward's reign. Some of these statutes were Statutes of Westminster, enacted in 1275, 1285, and 1290. The ones in 1275 attempted to deal with the usurpation of royal rights, which later were dealt with by "Quo Warranto".Prestwich "Plantagenet England" p. 124-126] Keeping the peace in the realm and the extension of royal jurisdiction to cover rape was dealt with in the statues from 1285, along with a number of other issues.Prestwich "The Three Edwards" p. 20-21] The last statute, from 1290, regulated land law, and arose from pressure from the barons.

During Burnell's time as Chancellor, the division between the king's personal household department of the Wardrobe and the governmental department of the Chancery, which was headed by the Chancellor, was erased almost entirely. There was no rivalry between the holders of the Great Seal and the Privy Seal.Chrimes "An Introduction to the Administrative History of Mediaeval England" p. 140] During Burnell's time in office, the king would only use a Privy Seal warrant, or an informal set of instructions for the chancellor to issue a letter from the chancery under the Great Seal, when the king and Burnell were apart. It was after Burnell's death that the number of Privy Seal warrants increased greatly.#tag:ref|The Privy Seal at this time was held by the controller of the wardrobe, who was Philip Willoughby from the accession until 18 October 1274 then Thomas Bek, (later Bishop St David's) until 20 November 1280, then William Louth (later Bishop of Ely) until 12 May 1290, then Walter Langton, acting-controller from 12 May 1290, and then appointed to office on 20 November 1290 until 1295.|group=notes

Edward had such trust in his chancellor and the chancellor's clerks, that Burnell and the clerks were allowed to dispense with the hanaper system and enjoy the profits from the fees of their office.Lyon "A Constitutional and Legal History of Medieval England" Second Edition p. 362-363] Chrimes "An Introduction to the Administrative History of Mediaeval England" p. 145] Burnell was also responsible for decision to make the court of chancery settle down in London, rather than following the king and his court around the country. This seems to have resulted from a chancery memorandum of 1280 that ordered the chancellor, along with the other minsters, the duty of sorting the many petitions that came into the government and only passing on the most urgent to the king.

Foreign service

Burnell was also active in the king's foreign policy, especially towards France, Scotland and Wales. He went on a number of diplomatic missions to those countries. Burnell served as the royal spokesman on a number of occasions, one of them being at Paris in 1286 when he made a speech detailing the history of English-French relations since the Treaty of Paris of 1259. The speech was a prelude to discussions involving the homage that Edward owed to King Philip IV of France, which were concluded successfully.Prestwich "Edward I" p. 323] In the late 1280s, Burnell was employed in Gascony, helping administer that duchy and reorganizing the government. He showed himself sensitive to the Gascon desire for independence and did not attempt to impose the same systems of government that were used in England. Because of this, the first half of Edward's reign was the period when Gascony enjoyed the best government under the Plantagenets.Prestwich "Edward I" p. 311] Later, in June of 1291, Burnell gave two speeches at the great council of English and Scottish nobles in Norham to decide the succession to the Scottish crown. Edward had been asked to mediate an end to the crisis over the succession, or the Great Cause as it was known in England.Prestwich "Edward I" p. 365]

Death and legacy

Although Burnell died in Berwick on 25 October 1292, his body, minus his heart, rests in the nave of his cathedral in Wells. His heart was buried at Bath. [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=34341 British History Online Bishops of Bath and Wells] accessed on September 11, 2007] Although he was usually busy with royal business, Burnell managed to expand his bishopric and provide for his relatives. He amassed great wealth; and on his death he left numerous estates in Shropshire, Worcestershire, Somerset, Kent, Surrey and elsewhere. At his death, he owned 82 manors over 19 counties, and most of these were his personal property, not the property of the diocese of Bath and Wells.Moorman "Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century" p. 169] In his personal life, he kept a mistress, named Juliana, even after he became a bishop. Rumors stated that she bore him four sons, and that he had a number of daughters, but Burnell denied the rumors.Prestwich "Edward I" p. 136] He kept a magnificent household, enough that he was able in the autumn of 1283 to host a parliament at Acton Burnell Castle, his home.Powell "The House of Lords in the Middle Ages" p. 208] He married off a number of young female relatives to noblemen, but rumour said these were his daughters.Moorman "Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century" p. 167]

He built extensively at Acton Burnell Castle, and large parts of his country house there still remain. It was substantially different in plan than the older hall style houses, with the private quarters at the back of a large hall. Instead, at Acton Burnell, the bishop's quarters were located well off from the main public spaces of the building, and included a latrine. The house itself was not quite a castle, but was designed to allow some defense of the property.Platt "Medieval England" p. 83] The whole form of the structure was of a fortified hall-house, much like the Norman-era hall-keeps.Pettifer "English Castles" p. 209] He also built the chapel in the Bishop's Palace in Wells. [http://www.bishopspalacewells.co.uk/thechapel.php Bishop's Chapel information] accessed on 1 February 2007]

Notes

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References

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External links

* [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Robert_Burnell Robert Burnell at 1911 Britannica Online]
* [http://www.britannia.com/bios/rburnell.html Robert Burnell (died 1292) at Britannia Biographies]
* [http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=70213&search=all&criteria=acton%20burnell National Monuments record information on Acton Burnell]

Persondata
NAME= Burnell, Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Archbishop-elect of Canterbury; Bishop of Bath and Wells; Bishop of Winchester-elect
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH= 25 October 1292
PLACE OF DEATH=Berwick