John Alen
Encyclopedia
John Alen was an English canon lawyer, Archbishop of Dublin
, and Chancellor of Ireland.
.The Alans were a numerous clan and six of his cousins settled in Ireland including his namesake John, who was Lord Chancellor in his turn. He was educated at Oxford and Cambridge, graduated in the latter place, and spent some years in Italy, partly at Rome, for studies and for business of Archbishop Warham of Canterbury. He was ordained priest 25 August 1499, and held various parochial benefices until 1522, about which time he attracted the attention of Cardinal Wolsey, whose supple and helpful commissary he was in the matter of the suppression of the minor monasteries. As such, his conduct, says James Gairdner
, "gave rise to considerable outcry, and complaints were made about it to the king".
He continued to receive ecclesiastical advancement, assisted Wolsey in his legatine functions, among other things in the suit instituted by the cardinal against the king in May, 1527, by which it was sought at first to have the marriage with Catharine of Aragon declared invalid without her knowledge. In the summer of the same year he accompanied the cardinal on his mission to France, and finally (August, 1528) was rewarded with the archiepiscopal see of Dublin. At the same time he was made by the king chancellor of Ireland.
He was relieved from asserting, against Armagh, the legatine authority of Wolsey by the latter's fall (October, 1529). With the rest of the English clergy he had to pay a heavy fine (1531) for violation of the Statutes of Provisors and Praemunire
, in recognizing the legatine authority of Wolsey, then, in the king's eyes, a heinous crime, and a reason for the cardinal's indictment.
, had been imprisoned by Wolsey in the Tower from 1526 to 1530, and again, by the King, early in 1534. Soon a false rumour spread through Ireland that the earl had been put to death, and the archbishop was killed in consequence of it by two retainers of his son, the famous "Silken Thomas" Fitzgerald. It does not appear that Lord Thomas contemplated the crime or approved of it. He afterwards sent his chaplain to Rome to obtain absolution for him from the excommunication incurred by this murder.
, Epistola de pallii significatione activa et passiva on the occasion of his reception of this pontifical symbol, and another De consuetudinibus ac statutis in tutoriis causis observandis. He seems also to have been a man of methodical habits, for in the archives of the Anglican archdiocese of Dublin are still preserved two important registers made by his order, the Liber Niger, or Black Book, and the Repertorium Viride, or Green Repertory, both so called, after the custom of the age, from the colour of the binding. The former is a chartularium of the archdiocese, or collection of its most important documents, and the latter a full description of the see as it was in 1530. Sir James Ware
says of Alen that "he was of a turbulent spirit, but a man of hospitality and learning, and a diligent inquirer into antiquities."
Archbishop of Dublin (Roman Catholic)
The Archbishop of Dublin is the title of the senior cleric who presides over the Archdiocese of Dublin. The Church of Ireland has a similar role, heading the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough. In both cases, the Archbishop is also Primate of Ireland...
, and Chancellor of Ireland.
Life
He was born in Cotteshall, NorfolkNorfolk
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...
.The Alans were a numerous clan and six of his cousins settled in Ireland including his namesake John, who was Lord Chancellor in his turn. He was educated at Oxford and Cambridge, graduated in the latter place, and spent some years in Italy, partly at Rome, for studies and for business of Archbishop Warham of Canterbury. He was ordained priest 25 August 1499, and held various parochial benefices until 1522, about which time he attracted the attention of Cardinal Wolsey, whose supple and helpful commissary he was in the matter of the suppression of the minor monasteries. As such, his conduct, says James Gairdner
James Gairdner
James Gairdner was a British historian. Specializing in 15th century and Early Tudor history, he among other tasks edited the Letters and Papers, foreign and domestic, of the reign of Henry VIII series....
, "gave rise to considerable outcry, and complaints were made about it to the king".
He continued to receive ecclesiastical advancement, assisted Wolsey in his legatine functions, among other things in the suit instituted by the cardinal against the king in May, 1527, by which it was sought at first to have the marriage with Catharine of Aragon declared invalid without her knowledge. In the summer of the same year he accompanied the cardinal on his mission to France, and finally (August, 1528) was rewarded with the archiepiscopal see of Dublin. At the same time he was made by the king chancellor of Ireland.
He was relieved from asserting, against Armagh, the legatine authority of Wolsey by the latter's fall (October, 1529). With the rest of the English clergy he had to pay a heavy fine (1531) for violation of the Statutes of Provisors and Praemunire
Praemunire
In English history, Praemunire or Praemunire facias was a law that prohibited the assertion or maintenance of papal jurisdiction, imperial or foreign, or some other alien jurisdiction or claim of supremacy in England, against the supremacy of the Monarch...
, in recognizing the legatine authority of Wolsey, then, in the king's eyes, a heinous crime, and a reason for the cardinal's indictment.
Murder
Archbishop Alen was murdered near Dublin, 28 July 1534. As a former follower of Wolsey, he was hated by the followers of the great Irish house of Kildare (Fitzgerald), whose chief, Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of KildareGerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare
Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare , also known in Irish as Gearóid Óg , was a figure in Irish History. In 1513 he inherited the title of Earl of Kildare and position of Lord Deputy of Ireland from his father.-Family:...
, had been imprisoned by Wolsey in the Tower from 1526 to 1530, and again, by the King, early in 1534. Soon a false rumour spread through Ireland that the earl had been put to death, and the archbishop was killed in consequence of it by two retainers of his son, the famous "Silken Thomas" Fitzgerald. It does not appear that Lord Thomas contemplated the crime or approved of it. He afterwards sent his chaplain to Rome to obtain absolution for him from the excommunication incurred by this murder.
Works
Alen wrote a treatise on the palliumPallium
The pallium is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Roman Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the Pope, but for many centuries bestowed by him on metropolitans and primates as a symbol of the jurisdiction delegated to them by the Holy See. In that context it has always remained unambiguously...
, Epistola de pallii significatione activa et passiva on the occasion of his reception of this pontifical symbol, and another De consuetudinibus ac statutis in tutoriis causis observandis. He seems also to have been a man of methodical habits, for in the archives of the Anglican archdiocese of Dublin are still preserved two important registers made by his order, the Liber Niger, or Black Book, and the Repertorium Viride, or Green Repertory, both so called, after the custom of the age, from the colour of the binding. The former is a chartularium of the archdiocese, or collection of its most important documents, and the latter a full description of the see as it was in 1530. Sir James Ware
Sir James Ware
Sir James Ware was an Irish historian.-Early life:Born at Castle Street, Dublin, Ware was the eldest son of James Ware, who arrived in Ireland in 1588 as a secretary to Lord Deputy FitzWilliam. His father was knighted by King James I, was elected M.P...
says of Alen that "he was of a turbulent spirit, but a man of hospitality and learning, and a diligent inquirer into antiquities."