John le Romeyn

Infobox Archbishop of York
name = John le Romeyn


consecration = 10 February 1286
began=9 June 1286
term_end = 11 March 1296
predecessor = William Wickwane
successor = Henry of Newark
birth_date = circa 1230
birthplace =
death_date = 11 March 1296
deathplace = Bishop Burton, Yorkshire
tomb=York Minster

John le Romeyn or John Romanus was a medieval Archbishop of York.

Life

John was the illegitimate son of John le Romeyn the elder, treasurer of York. [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=7766 British History Online Prebends of Warthill] accessed on 22 September 2007] The younger John was born while his father was still a subdeacon, and nothing is known about his mother, except for a 14th century chronicler's mention that she was a waiting woman. His birth was probably around 1230.Smith "Romanus, John (c.1230–1296)" "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/24042 Online Edition of October 2007] accessed 12 November 2007] He was a master at Oxford University and a Doctor of Theology at Paris by 1276. [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=8457 British History Online Archbishops of York] accessed on 22 September 2007]

He was rector of Nether Wallop, Hampshire and precentor and chancellor of Lincoln as well as holding the prebend of Warthill in Yorkshire before being elected Archbishop of York on 29 October 1285.Fryde "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 282] Romeyn went to Rome to receive his pallium, but while there questions arose about the canonical validity of his election, so John resigned, and a new election was held under Pope Honorius IV's supervision, where Romeyn was once more elected. He was consecrated 10 February 1286 by Latino Malabranca Orsini, the Bishop of Ostia in Rome. He was enthroned on 9 June 1286 at York Minster.

During his first seven months that John was archbishop, he held two group ordinations of priests and attended Convocation as well as visiting eighteen priories, twelve of the rural deaneries, the towns Otley, Ripon and Beverley, and an abbey.Moorman "Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century" p. 186] Romeyn often used the Bishop of Whithorn as his deputy for confirmations and other ecclesiastical matters.Moorman "Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century" p. 196] In 1286 he issued an order to all the clergy in his diocese that held benefices but that were not yet ordained a priest to come to Tadcaster to be ordained.Moorman "Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century" p. 225]

From the late 13th century onwards archbishops at York monitored Kirklees Priory as there was considerable concern for its spiritual health. In 1287 le Romeyn asked the prior of St Oswald's to visit the convent. He was instructed to hear the nuns' confessions and to ensure that they were living worthy lives, keeping a secure house and adhering to the church's and their order's doctrines and laws. Also in August 1287, the parish church of Saint Oswald, Oswaldkirk was re-consecrated by Henry, Bishop of Candida Casa (Whithorn), acting under a mandate from the Archbishop of York.

On 25 January 1288, he issued a decree concerning the financing of a chapter house at Southwell Minster. On 27 April 1289, le Romeyn requested the Provincial, Henry of Hanna, to receive Richard Manlovel, a canon of Thurgarton, of the Order of St. Augustine, into the Carmelite Order.

In 1293, John le Romeyn was brought before Parliament on a charge of usurping the royal prerogatives for having excommunicated Anthony Bek, the Bishop of Durham, because Bek allowed the arrest of two priests of Durham. Parliament held that Bek had been acting as earl palatine and not as a bishop, and ordered that the archbishop be imprisoned. However, Romeyn avoided arrest by paying a fine of 4000 marks to King Edward I of England.Prestwich "Edward I" p. 352] Romeyn was a member of a few embassies for Edward I, but otherwise does not seem to have been involved in the government of the kingdom.

He died 11 March 1296 at Bishop Burton near Beverley in Yorkshire and was buried at York Minster.

Notes

References

* [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=8457 British History Online Archbishops of York] accessed on 22 September 2007
* [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=7766 British History Online Prebends of Warthill] accessed on 22 September 2007
*
* Moorman, John R. H. "Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century" Revised Edition Cambridge:Cambridge University Press 1955
* Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde "Handbook of British Chronology" 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961
* Prestwich, Michael "Edward I" New Haven:Yale University Press 1997 ISBN 0-300-07157-4
* Smith, David M. "Romanus, John (c.1230–1296)" "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" Oxford University Press, Sept 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/24042 Online Edition of October 2007] accessed 12 November 2007

Persondata
NAME= Romeyn, John le
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Romanus, John
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Archbishop of York
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=11 March 1296
PLACE OF DEATH=Burton, Yorkshire