Adam Easton
Encyclopedia
Adam Easton was an English Cardinal
, born at Easton
in Norfolk
.
He joined the Benedictine
s at Norwich
moving on to the Benedictine Gloucester College, Oxford
where he became one of the most outstanding students of his generation, being especially proficient in Hebrew. He is known to have accompanied Simon Langham to Rome
, then Montefiascone and Avignon and he held the post of socius in Langham's household. Being a man of learning and ability, he obtained a post in the Curia
.
He was instrumental in the attack and subsequent condemnation of John Wycliff and supporting Catholic orthodoxy
in England. He was made a Cardinal by Urban VI, on 21 September 1381. On 7 March, 1381 or 1382, he was nominated Dean of York
. He arranged Richard II and Anne of Bohemia's wedding coronation in the Abbey and probably composed the Liber Regalis. A document in the Abbey concerning the coronation offerings gives him as Cardinal of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. In 1385 he was imprisoned at Nocera in Campania by Urban on a charge of conspiring with five other cardinals against the pope and was deprived of his cardinalate and deanery. With his fellow captives he was dragged across Italy arriving at Genoa in autumn 1385. Here the others were put to death but Adam was spared through the personal intervention of Richard II.
The next pope, Boniface IX, restored his cardinalate 18 December, 1389. It has been suggested that for a time Easton returned to England. The Norwich Record Office documents the sending of the Cardinal's books by way of the Low Countries to Norwich for his use there. He retained benefices in England throughout this period, including Somersham, the deanery of York and a prebend in Salisbury Cathedral
, which he subsequently exchanged for the living of Heygham (Heigham) in Norfolk.
He wrote many works the most significant of which was a massive volume entitled the Defence of Ecclesiastical Power, supporting the position of the Catholic Church and damning Wyclif's theology as false and erroneous. This and a number of his other works still exist, as do some of the manuscripts of his library, which were shipped back to Norwich from Rome in six barrels, and he composed the Office for the Visitation of Our Lady. He effected the canonization of Birgitta of Sweden in 1391 with a structured attack on a Perugian 'Devil's Advocate', a document in which he defended women's visionary writings.
He may have been Julian of Norwich
's spiritual director, editing her Long Text Showing of Love in the same way that Birgitta of Sweden's spiritual director, Alfonso of Jaen, edited her Revelationes. Alfonso became director to Catherine of Siena
, whose confessor and executor was William Flete
, the Cambridge-educated Augustinian Hermit of Lecceto, and to Chiara Gambacorta. Easton's Defense of St Birgitta echoes Alfonso of Jaen's Epistola Solitarii, and William Flete's Remedies against Temptations, all of which appear in Julian's text.
He died at Rome, 15 September (according to others, 20 October) 1397. His tomb, constructed later, is in his Cardinalate Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere.
Attribution
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
, born at Easton
Easton, Norfolk
Easton is a small village in Norfolk, to the west of Norwich. It covers an area of and had a population of 1,141 in 445 households as of the 2001 census. Located close to the Royal Norfolk Showground and the A47, it also houses Easton College, a large agricultural college...
in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
.
He joined the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
s at Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
moving on to the Benedictine Gloucester College, Oxford
Gloucester College, Oxford
Gloucester College, Oxford was a Benedictine institution of the University of Oxford, from the late thirteenth century until the Dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century. It was never a typical college of the University, in that there was an internal division in the College, by staircase...
where he became one of the most outstanding students of his generation, being especially proficient in Hebrew. He is known to have accompanied Simon Langham to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, then Montefiascone and Avignon and he held the post of socius in Langham's household. Being a man of learning and ability, he obtained a post in the Curia
Curia
A curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs...
.
He was instrumental in the attack and subsequent condemnation of John Wycliff and supporting Catholic orthodoxy
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
in England. He was made a Cardinal by Urban VI, on 21 September 1381. On 7 March, 1381 or 1382, he was nominated Dean of York
Dean of York
The Dean of York is the member of the clergy who is responsible for the running of the York Minster cathedral.-11th–12th centuries:* 1093–c.1135: Hugh* c.1138–1143: William of Sainte-Barbe...
. He arranged Richard II and Anne of Bohemia's wedding coronation in the Abbey and probably composed the Liber Regalis. A document in the Abbey concerning the coronation offerings gives him as Cardinal of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. In 1385 he was imprisoned at Nocera in Campania by Urban on a charge of conspiring with five other cardinals against the pope and was deprived of his cardinalate and deanery. With his fellow captives he was dragged across Italy arriving at Genoa in autumn 1385. Here the others were put to death but Adam was spared through the personal intervention of Richard II.
The next pope, Boniface IX, restored his cardinalate 18 December, 1389. It has been suggested that for a time Easton returned to England. The Norwich Record Office documents the sending of the Cardinal's books by way of the Low Countries to Norwich for his use there. He retained benefices in England throughout this period, including Somersham, the deanery of York and a prebend in Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture....
, which he subsequently exchanged for the living of Heygham (Heigham) in Norfolk.
He wrote many works the most significant of which was a massive volume entitled the Defence of Ecclesiastical Power, supporting the position of the Catholic Church and damning Wyclif's theology as false and erroneous. This and a number of his other works still exist, as do some of the manuscripts of his library, which were shipped back to Norwich from Rome in six barrels, and he composed the Office for the Visitation of Our Lady. He effected the canonization of Birgitta of Sweden in 1391 with a structured attack on a Perugian 'Devil's Advocate', a document in which he defended women's visionary writings.
He may have been Julian of Norwich
Julian of Norwich
Julian of Norwich is regarded as one of the most important English mystics. She is venerated in the Anglican and Lutheran churches, but has never been canonized, or officially beatified, by the Catholic Church, probably because so little is known of her life aside from her writings, including the...
's spiritual director, editing her Long Text Showing of Love in the same way that Birgitta of Sweden's spiritual director, Alfonso of Jaen, edited her Revelationes. Alfonso became director to Catherine of Siena
Catherine of Siena
Saint Catherine of Siena, T.O.S.D, was a tertiary of the Dominican Order, and a Scholastic philosopher and theologian. She also worked to bring the papacy of Gregory XI back to Rome from its displacement in France, and to establish peace among the Italian city-states. She was proclaimed a Doctor...
, whose confessor and executor was William Flete
William Flete
William Flete was a 14th century Augustinian hermit friar, a contemporary and great friend of St. Catherine of Siena.-Biography:The exact place and date of his birth are unknown and those of his death are disputed...
, the Cambridge-educated Augustinian Hermit of Lecceto, and to Chiara Gambacorta. Easton's Defense of St Birgitta echoes Alfonso of Jaen's Epistola Solitarii, and William Flete's Remedies against Temptations, all of which appear in Julian's text.
He died at Rome, 15 September (according to others, 20 October) 1397. His tomb, constructed later, is in his Cardinalate Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere.
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Attribution