Hugh Nonant

Infobox bishopbiog
name =Hugh Nonant


religion =Catholic
See =Diocese of Coventry
Title = Bishop of Coventry
Period = 1185–1198
Predecessor = Gerard la Pucelle
Successor =Geofrey de Muschamp
ordination =
bishops =
post =
date of birth =
place of birth =
date of death =27 March 1198
place of death =

Hugh Nonant was a medieval Bishop of Coventry.

Early life

He was a great-nephew of John, bishop of Lisieux, who had been the chief deputy in Normandy of King Henry I of England,Barlow "The Feudal Kingdom of England" Fourth Edition p. 192] and he was also a nephew of Arnulf of Lisieux.Barlow "Feudal Kingdom of England" Fourth Edition p. 373-376] He was a canon in his uncle's cathedral chapterSchriber "The Dilemma of Arnulf of Lisieux" p. 60] before serving as an archdeacon of the diocese of Lisieux from 1167 until 1184.Schriber "The Dilemma of Arnulf of Lisieux" p. 58] Hugh served in the household of Thomas Becket while Becket was archbishop of Canterbury,Barlow "Thomas Becket" p. 78] and went into exile with Becket, although Hugh left Becket's service while the archbishop was in exile.Barlow "Thomas Becket" p. 131] Hugh had been reconciled to King Henry II of England by 1170. In 1184, Hugh was sent by the king to the papal curia to petition Pope Lucius III on behalf of Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony and Henry II's son-in-law. Hugh's success on this mission probably was the reason he was elevated to the episcopate in 1185.Franklin "Nonant, Hugh de (d. 1198)" "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography"]

Bishop of Coventry

He was elected bishop in 1185, probably in January, and consecrated on 31 January 1188.Fryde "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 253] The long delay between his election and his consecration was due to Hugh's continued diplomatic efforts on behalf of Henry II. In 1186, Hugh was sent to Rome to secure papal permission for the crowning of Prince John of England as king of Ireland. Hugh was briefly in England from December of 1186 until February of 1187, but then went with Henry to the continent and did not return to England until January of 1188. However, when Henry returned to France in July of 1188, Hugh accompanied the king and did not return until shortly before the coronation of King Richard I of England. Hugh also purchased the offices of sheriff in Warwickshire, Leicestershire, and Staffordshire. Holding these offices was against canon law, and Hugh's tenure in these offices may have been the cause of Hugh's quarrel with Archbishop Baldwin of Canterbury.

It was after the coronation of Richard that Hugh had a dispute with the monks of his cathedral chapter which led to Hugh replacing the monks with secular clergy. He was said to have commented that "I call my clerks gods and the monks demons."Bartlett "England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings" p. 477] Hugh was very shrewd and eloquent, but he was also violent in his attempts to reform or expel his monastic clergy from Coventry. In October of 1189 he attempted to persuade his fellow bishops who had monastic cathedral chapters to expel the monks and replace them with secular clergy. He also attempted to get all the bishops to prosecute a joint case at Rome to expel the monastic cathedral chapters, but gave up that idea after the archbishop of Canterbury Baldwin of Exeter declined to go along. Hugh did, however, receive papal sanction for the replacement of monks at Coventry. By 1197, however, Pope Clement III issued instructions to Hubert Walter archbishop of Canterbury, Hugh of Lincoln bishop of Lincoln and Samson of Tottington Abbot of Bury St. Edmunds, to restore the monks to the cathedral.Knowles "The Monastic Order in England" p. 322-324]

After King Richard went to the Holy Land on the Third Crusade, Hugh was a partisan of Prince John, King Richard's brother. Hugh joined with John in trying to wrest control of the castles of Tickhill and Nottingham from William Longchamp bishop of Ely, who had been named justiciar and chancellor during Richard's absence. It was probably Hugh that was responsible for the meeting at Loddon Bridge on 5 October 1191 that ended in the deposition of Lonchamp from office. Hugh stuck by John's side throughout the time that Richard was on Crusade and in captivity, and was tried with John after Richard's return to England in 1194. Hugh was only restored to royal favor in 1195 after the payment of a fine of five thousand marks.Gillingham "Richard I" p. 270] Hugh lost his three sheriffdoms, and retired to Normandy.Poole "Domesday Book to Magna Carta" p. 368]

Death and legacy

He died on 27 March 1198. Before his death he was clothed in the habit of a Benedictine monk by the monks of Bec Abbey and he died at Bec. The historian A. L. Poole described Hugh as a "dexterous and unprincipled politician who had inherited the diplomatic gifts of his uncle."Poole "Domesday Book to Magna Carta" p. 357] Hugh's brother was Robert Brito, who was captured by King Richard in 1194 and starved to death because Robert had earlier refused to be a hostage for the payment of Richard's ransom.Gillingham "Richard I" p. 269 footnote 2] The constitutions of the cathedral chapter at Lichfield are often stated to have been his work, but this has been disproven.

Notes

References

* Barlow, Frank "The Feudal Kingdom of England: 1042-1216" Fourth Edition New York: Longman 1988 ISBN 0-582-49504-0
* Barlow, Frank "Thomas Becket" Berkeley, CA:University of California Press 1986 ISBN 0-520-07175-1
* Bartlett, Robert "England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings: 1075-1225" Oxford:Clarendon Press 2000 ISBN 0-19-822741-8
* Franklin, M. J. "Nonant, Hugh de (d. 1198)" "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/20245 Online Edition] accessed 14 January 2008
*
* Gillingham, John "Richard I" New Haven:Yale University Press 1999 ISBN 0-300-07912-5
* Knowles, Dom David "The Monastic Order in England: From the Times of St. Dunstan to the Fourth Lateran Council" Second Edition Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1976 reprint ISBN 0-521-05479-6
* Poole, A. L. "Domesday Book to Magna Carta 1087-1216" Second Edition Oxford:Clarendon Press reprint 1986 ISBN 0-19-821707-2
* Schriber, Carolyn Poling "The Delimma of Arnulf of Lisieux: New Ideas versus Old Ideals" Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press 1990 ISBN 0-253-35097-2

Persondata
NAME= Nonant, Hugh
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= de Nonant, Hugh
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Bishop of Coventry
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=27 March 1198
PLACE OF DEATH=