Hugh Nonant
Encyclopedia
Hugh Nonant was a medieval Bishop of Coventry
Bishop of Coventry
The Bishop of Coventry is the Ordinary of the England Diocese of Coventry in the Province of Canterbury. In the Middle Ages, the Bishop of Coventry was a title used by the bishops known today as the Bishop of Lichfield....

 in England. A great-nephew and nephew of two Bishops of Lisieux
Roman Catholic Diocese of Lisieux
The Diocese of Lisieux was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in France, centered on Lisieux, in Calvados.The bishop of Lisieux was the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lisieux. The first known Bishop of Lisieux is one Theodibandes, mentioned in connexion with a council held in...

, he held the office of archdeacon in that diocese before serving successively Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...

, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

 and King Henry II of England
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...

. Diplomatic successes earned him the nomination to Coventry, but diplomatic missions after his elevation led to a long delay before he was consecrated. After King Henry's death, Nonant served Henry's son, King Richard I
Richard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...

, who rewarded him with the office of sheriff in three counties. Nonant replaced his monastic cathedral chapter
Cathedral chapter
In accordance with canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese in his stead. These councils are made up of canons and dignitaries; in the Roman Catholic church their...

 with secular clergy
Secular clergy
The term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or members of a religious order.-Catholic Church:In the Catholic Church, the secular clergy are ministers, such as deacons and priests, who do not belong to a religious order...

, and attempted to persuade his fellow bishops to do the same, but was unsuccessful. When King Richard was captured and held for ransom, Nonant supported Prince John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...

's efforts to seize power in England, but had to purchase Richard's favour when the king returned.

Early life

Nonant was a great-nephew of John, Bishop of Lisieux, who had been the chief deputy in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

 of King Henry I of England
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...

, and he was also a nephew of Arnulf of Lisieux
Arnulf of Lisieux
"Arnoul" redirects here. For the Cyborg 009 character, Francoise Arnoul, see more info in Cyborg 009.Arnulf of Lisieux was a medieval French bishop.He was educated by his brother, the Bishop of Sées, and studied canon law at Rome...

, another bishop of Lisieux. He was a canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....

 in his uncle Arnulf's cathedral chapter before serving as an archdeacon
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...

 of the diocese of Lisieux
Lisieux
Lisieux is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.Lisieux is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland...

 from 1167 until 1184. Nonant served in the household of Thomas Becket while Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury, and went into exile with Becket, although he left Becket's service while the archbishop was in exile. Nonant had been reconciled to King Henry II of England by 1170. In 1184, Nonant was sent by the king to the papal curia to petition Pope Lucius III
Pope Lucius III
Pope Lucius III , born Ubaldo, was pope from 1 September 1181 to his death.A native of the independent republic of Lucca, he was born ca. 1100 as Ubaldo, son of Orlando. He is commonly referred to as a member of the aristocratic family of Allucingoli, but this is not proven...

 on behalf of Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion was a member of the Welf dynasty and Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180....

, Duke of Saxony and Henry II's son-in-law. Nonant's success on this mission probably was the reason he was elevated to the episcopate in 1185.

Bishop of Coventry

Nonant was elected bishop in 1185, probably in January, and consecrated on 31 January 1188. The long delay between his election and his consecration was due to Nonant's continued diplomatic efforts on behalf of Henry II. In 1186, he was sent to Rome to secure papal permission for the crowning of Prince John as King of Ireland. The bishop-elect was briefly in England from December of 1186 until February of 1187, but then went with King Henry to the continent and did not return to England until January 1188. However, when Henry returned to France in July 1188, Hugh accompanied the king and did not return until shortly before the coronation of King Richard I of England. Nonant also purchased the offices of Sheriff of Warwickshire
High Sheriff of Warwickshire
The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...

, Leicestershire
High Sheriff of Leicestershire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Leicestershire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred...

, and Staffordshire
High Sheriff of Staffordshire
This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Staffordshire.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred...

. Holding these offices was against canon law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...

, and the bishop's tenure in these offices may have been the cause of his quarrel with Baldwin of Forde.

It was after the coronation of Richard that Nonant had a dispute with the monks of his cathedral chapter which led to Nonant replacing the monks with secular clergy. He was said to have commented that "I call my clerks gods and the monks demons." Nonant was very shrewd and eloquent, but he was also violent in his attempts to reform or expel his monastic clergy from Coventry. In October 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. Nonant did, however, receive papal sanction for the replacement of monks at Coventry. By 1197, however, Pope Celestine III
Pope Celestine III
Pope Celestine III , born Giacinto Bobone, was elected Pope on March 21, 1191, and reigned until his death. He was born into the noble Orsini family in Rome, though he was only a cardinal deacon before becoming Pope...

 issued instructions to Hubert Walter
Hubert Walter
Hubert Walter was an influential royal adviser in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries in the positions of Chief Justiciar of England, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Lord Chancellor. As chancellor, Walter began the keeping of the Charter Roll, a record of all charters issued by the...

, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Hugh of Lincoln
Hugh of Lincoln
Hugh of Lincoln was at the time of the Reformation the best-known English saint after Thomas Becket.-Life:...

, the Bishop of Lincoln
Bishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral...

 and Samson of Tottington
Samson of Tottington
Samson of Tottington was an English Benedictine monk who became Abbot of Bury St. Edmunds.-Life:...

, the Abbot of Bury St Edmunds, to restore the monks to the cathedral.

After King Richard went to the Holy Land on the Third Crusade
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...

, Nonant supported the efforts of Prince John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...

, King Richard's brother, to seize power in England. Hugh joined with John in trying to wrest control of the castles of Tickhill and Nottingham from William Longchamp
William Longchamp
William Longchamp , sometimes known as William de Longchamp or William de Longchamps, was a medieval Lord Chancellor, Chief Justiciar, and Bishop of Ely in England. Born to a humble family in Normandy, he owed his advancement to royal favour. Although contemporary writers accused Longchamp's father...

, the Bishop of Ely
Bishop of Ely
The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire , together with a section of north-west Norfolk and has its see in the City of Ely, Cambridgeshire, where the seat is located at the...

, who had been named justiciar
Justiciar
In medieval England and Ireland the Chief Justiciar was roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister as the monarch's chief minister. Similar positions existed on the Continent, particularly in Norman Italy. The term is the English form of the medieval Latin justiciarius or justitiarius In...

 and chancellor
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...

 during Richard's absence. It was probably Nonant that was responsible for the meeting at Loddon Bridge on 5 October 1191 that ended in the deposition of Longchamp from office. Nonant supported 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. Nonant was only restored to royal favour in 1195 after the payment of a fine of 5000 marks
Mark (money)
Mark was a measure of weight mainly for gold and silver, commonly used throughout western Europe and often equivalent to 8 ounces. Considerable variations, however, occurred throughout the Middle Ages Mark (from a merging of three Teutonic/Germanic languages words, Latinized in 9th century...

. The bishop lost his three sheriffdoms, and retired to Normandy.

Death and legacy

Nonant died on 27 March 1198. Before his death he was clothed in the habit of a 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...

 monk by the monks of Bec Abbey
Bec Abbey
Bec Abbey in Le Bec Hellouin, Normandy, France, once the most influential abbey in the Anglo-Norman kingdom of the twelfth century, is a Benedictine monastic foundation in the Eure département, in the Bec valley midway between the cities of Rouen and Bernay.Like all abbeys, Bec maintained annals...

 and he died at Bec. On his deathbed, he confessed a long record of sins, which deterred any priest from absolving him. The historian A. L. Poole
Austin Lane Poole
Austin Lane Poole was a British mediaevalist.Poole came from an academic lineage, being the son of Reginald Lane Poole , the nephew of Stanley Lane Poole , and the grandson of Reginald Stuart Poole .Austin Poole...

 described Hugh as a "dexterous and unprincipled politician who had inherited the diplomatic gifts of his uncle." Another historian, John Gillingham
John Gillingham
John Gillingham is emeritus professor of medieval history at the London School of Economics and Political Science. On the 19th July 2007 he was elected into the Fellowship of the British Academy He is renowned as an expert on the Angevin empire.-Books:...

, stated that Nonant was King "John's chief propagandist and, in his spare time, bishop of Coventry". 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.

The constitutions of the cathedral chapter at Lichfield are often stated to have been Nonant's work, but this has been disproven. The chronicler Roger of Howden inserted a letter supposedly by Nonant in his Chronica. This letter was also preserved in other manuscripts, including a section of a manuscript now in the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...

as manuscript (MS) Additional A.44. This letter has now been published as part of the English Episcopal Acta series in the volume on the diocese of Lichfield and Coventry.
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