Life

Hugh was the first abbot

Abbot

The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...

 of the Cistercian Beaulieu Abbey

Beaulieu Abbey

Beaulieu Abbey, , was a Cistercian abbey located in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1203-1204 by King John and peopled by 30 monks sent from the abbey of Cîteaux in France, the mother house of the Cistercian order...

, which had originally been located at Faringdon

Faringdon

Faringdon is a market town in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. It is on the edge of the Thames Valley, between the River Thames and the Ridgeway...

 in Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

 (now Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

), before he was selected for the see of Carlisle. In 1214 and 1216, Hugh was censured by the Chapter General of the Cistercian Order for the ostentation of his lifestyle. He was accused of eating off silver plate, keeping a guard dog in his bedroom with a silver chain, and of too much revelry with earls and knights. While abbot, he attended the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215. He had been deposed as abbot before he was chosen as bishop, at some point shortly before 1218. He was elected about 1 August 1218, and consecrated on 24 February 1219. He was not the choice of the 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...

 of Carlisle, and his election was forced on them. He died on 4 June 1223.

Further reading

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