Ralph Neville

Infobox Archbishop of Canterbury
Full name = Ralph Neville


birth_name = Ralph Neville
began=unknown
consecration = never consecrated
term_end = 1232
predecessor = Richard le Grant
successor = John of Sittingbourne
birth_date =
death_date = February 1244
deathplace = London
tomb = Chichester Cathedral

Ralph Neville (died 1244) served as Lord Chancellor of England (two separate terms) and Bishop of Chichester during the 13th century. He was also Archbishop of Canterbury elect from 1231 to 1232.

Biography

Early life

He had at least three brothers: Nicholas de Neville, a canon at Chichester, William de Neville, treasurer of the see of Chichester, and Robert de Neville, holder of a prebend at Chichester. Another likely sibling was Roger, who held land in Lincolnshire, and of the brother, at least Ralph was illegitimate.Vincent "Origins of the Chancellorship of the Exchequer" "English Historical Review" p. 111-112] He was also related to Hugh de Neville, the chief forester for King John of England. [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=34293 British History Online Bishops of Chichester] accessed on September 11, 2007] Robert was later Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Nicholas was a baron of the Exchequer.Vincent "Origins of the Chancellorship of the Exchequer" "English Historical Review" pp. 109-110] He was a royal clerk of King John in the spring of 1207, and in December of that year was at Marlborough Castle on royal business.Cazel "Neville, Ralph de (d. 1244)" "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/19949 Online Edition] accessed 8 November 2007] Ralph was Dean of Lichfield on 11 April 1214 and held a prebend in the diocese of London at that time. [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=34297 British History Online Prebends of Chichester] accessed on September 11, 2007]

Royal service and Bishop of Chichester

Ralph was Keeper of the King's Seal under Henry III from about 6 November 1218.Fryde "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 85] [Powell "The House of Lords in the Middle Ages" p. 173] He was also vice-chancellor of England, and with the retirement of Richard Marsh, the Chancellor, to Marsh's see of Durham to handle ecclesiastical affairs, Ralph in fact, if not in name, held the office of Chancellor itself.Chrimes "An Introduction to the Administrative History of England" p. 109-114] He received a dispensation for illegitimacy on 25 January 1220. In late October he was named chancellor of the see of Chichester, but was then elected as bishop of Chichester about 1 November 1222. He was given control of the temporalities of the bishopric on 3 November 1222, and was consecrated on 21 April 1224.Fryde "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 239]

Ralph was named Lord Chancellor of England on 17 May 1226. That appointment was done by the great council during the minority of King Henry III, and Ralph obtained a grant of the office for life.Chrimes "An Introduction to the Administrative History of Mediaeval England" p. 87] Unlike Hubert de Burgh, who lost his offices when Henry III attained his majority and took control of the government, Ralph remained in office with only slight disagreements until 1238. Under Neville, the first signs that the chancery was becoming a department of state, rather than just a royal department begin to emerge.Pegues "Clericus" in Legal Administration" "English Historical Review" p. 538]

Letters from the precentor of Chichester Cathedral are still extant, begging the bishop to come to Chichester over Easter in order to celebrate the Easter Mass and to deal with pressing issues in the diocese. Ralph's duties as Chancellor kept him from attending to much of the business of his diocese.Moorman "Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century" p. 164-165]

Ralph was elected Archbishop of Canterbury about 24 September 1231 by the monks of Canterbury, but his election to the archbishopric was quashed in early 1232 by the Pope Gregory IX.Fryde "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 233] In 1238, the cathedral chapter of the see of Winchester elected first William de Raley in opposition to the king's choice of William of Valence, and when that election was quashed, they then selected Ralph instead of William bishop of Valence. However, this election to Winchester was quashed in 1239, and it led to a quarrel with Henry III. Henry deprived Ralph of the actual custody of the great seal from 1238 until 1242, but Ralph retained the title of Chancellor until his death.

Death and afterward

He died between 1 February and 4 February 1244 at the palace he had built in London on a what was then New Street, but was renamed Chancery Lane because of the palace he built. He was buried in Chichester Cathedral.

Writings

His letters have been collected in "Sussex Archaelological Collections" volume 3, edited by W. H. Blaauw in 1850.Moorman "Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century" p. xv]

Notes

References

* [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=34293 British History Online Bishops of Chichester] accessed on September 11, 2007
* Cazel, Jr., Fred A. "Neville, Ralph de (d. 1244)" "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/19949 Online Edition] accessed 8 November 2007
* Chrimes, S. B. "An Introduction to the Administrative History of Mediaeval England" Third Edition Oxford:Basil Blackwell 1966
*
* Moorman, John R. H. "Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century" Revised Edition Cambridge:Cambridge University Press 1955
*
* Powell, J. Enoch and Keith Wallis "The House of Lords in the Middle Ages: A History of the English House of Lords to 1540"
*

Persondata
NAME=Neville, Ralph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Chancellor of England; Bishop of Chichester; Archbishop of Canterbury-elect
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH= February 1244
PLACE OF DEATH=