Henry de Lichton

infobox bishopbiog
name = Henry de Lichton


religion= Roman Catholic Church
See = Diocese of Aberdeen
Title = Bishop of Aberdeen
Period = 1422–1440
consecration = March 8, 1415, at Valencia (for Moray)
Predecessor = Gilbert de Greenlaw
Successor = Ingram Lindsay
post = Archdeacon of Aberdeen| ordination =
bishops = Moray (1414–1422)
date of birth = 1369 x 1379
place of birth = Angus
date of death = December 12, 1440 – December 14, 1440
place of death = Probably Aberdeen

Henry de Lichton [de Lychtone, Leighton] (died 1440), was a medieval Scottish prelate and diplomat, who, serving as Bishop of Moray (1414–1422) and Bishop of Aberdeen (1422–1440), became a significant 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.

Early church career

He was born in the diocese of Brechin (probably Angus) somewhere between 1369 and 1379 to Henry and Janet Lichton.Ditchburn, "Lichton , Henry (1369x79–1440)".] 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 between 1394 and 1415; he attained an additional doctorate - in civil law - by 1436. 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, a vicariate of St Andrews Cathedral Priory. [Cowan, "Parishes", p. 143.] He was a canon of the diocese of Moray by 1394, [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.] and Archdeacon of Aberdeen by 1395, holding this position into the following year, 1396. [Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 19.]

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. [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.] Lichton travelled to Continental Europe to receive consecration, and was consecrated on March 8, 1415, at Valencia by Pope Benedict XIII. [Dowden, "Bishops of Scotland", p. 157; Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 215.]

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. 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. [Ditchburn, "Lichton , Henry (1369x79–1440)"; Dowden, "Bishops of Scotland", p. 120.]

Bishop of Aberdeen

After the death of Gilbert de Greenlaw, Bishop of Aberdeen, in 1421, Lichton was chosen as his successor, and was translated to the diocese of Aberdeen in early April, 1422, on the authority of Pope Martin V. [Dowden, "Bishops of Scotland", p. 120; Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 3.] Pope Martin delegated authority to Robert de Cardeny, Bishop of Dunkeld, and William Stephen, Bishop of Dunblane, in order to take Lichton's oath to the Papal see without forcing him to travel to Rome. It is of note that Lichton had already been in possession of the prebend of Kinkell in the Aberdeen diocese,Dowden, "Bishops of Scotland", p. 120.] a former possession of the Knights Hospitaller but attached to Aberdeen Cathedral by Lichton's time. [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.]

As Bishop of Aberdeen, Lichton was one of its greatest builders. The "Aberdeen Registrum" noted that he began to rebuild the cathedral, [Dowden, "Bishops of Scotland", p. 120, citing Innes, "Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis", vol. ii, p. 120.] and Hector Boece gave a description of his rebuilding, noting that although he finished the walls and two belltowers, the third belltower remained unfinished at his death.Dowden, "Bishops of Scotland", p. 121.] Licthon also constructed a new 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. He also authored several legal and religious texts, though none have survived.

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. [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).] 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. 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, [Ditchburn, "Lichton , Henry (1369x79–1440)"; Innes, "Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis", vol. i, p. xxxvii.] and in January 1430, was sent into England for discussion of various grievances. [Dowden, "Bishops of Scotland", pp. 120-1.] On March 31, 1434, Lichton is found in attendance at the Council of Basel, though no more details of his activities there have survived.

Death

Lichton's death cannot be precisely dated. It fell between November 11 (Martinmas), 1440, and January 11, 1441; [Watt, "Fasti Ecclesiae", p. 3.] 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. He was buried in his new chapel, the one dedicated to St John the Evangelist. As a churchman, Lichton could never marry and did not; he did however father a bastard, a daughter named Janet, who appeared in the records receiving papal dispensation to marry in 1432.

Notes

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 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/16400, 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)