Life

Nothing is known of Bovil's origins or his parents, but he attended Oxford University at around the same time as Edmund of Abingdon, who became Bovil's good friend. He first appears as 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 ....

 of York Minster

York Minster

York Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by...

 in 1236, and was holding the prebend of Fenton by October 1240. He was Archdeacon of York by January of 1248, but had been named 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...

 by 21 September 1249. He earned a doctor of theology title by 1244.

Bovil was archbishop

Archbishop

An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

 for only two years between 1256 and his death in 1258. He was selected about 1 October 1255, and was consecrated on 23 July 1256, at York

York

York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

 by Walter de Cantilupe

Walter de Cantilupe

Walter de Cantilupe was a medieval Bishop of Worcester.-Life:He came of a family which had risen by devoted service to the crown...

, Bishop of Worcester

Bishop of Worcester

The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. He is the head of the Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury...

. He received a papal dispensation

Papal dispensation

Papal dispensation is a reserved right of the Pope that allows for individuals to be exempted from a specific Canon Law. Dispensations are divided into two categories: general, and matrimonial. Matrimonial dispensations can be either to allow a marriage in the first place, or to dissolve one...

 to become archbishop because he was illegitimate on 11 March 1256. Pope Alexander IV

Pope Alexander IV

Pope Alexander IV was Pope from 1254 until his death.Born as Rinaldo di Jenne, in Jenne , he was, on his mother's side, a member of the de' Conti di Segni family, the counts of Segni, like Pope Innocent III and Pope Gregory IX...

  then provided Jordan, an Italian, to the now vacant deanery, but Bovil objected and attempted to keep Jordan out. Alexander IV then excommunicated the archbishop in 1257. After a compromise was reached whereby Jordan received a pension, Bovil was absolved. Godfrey Ludham

Godfrey Ludham

Godfrey Ludham was Archbishop of York from 1258 to 1265.-Life:Ludham's parents were Richard and Eda of Ludham, Norfolk, and he had a brother Thomas who was also a priest. Matthew Paris gives him the name Godfrey Kineton, but without any explanation of why that was his name...

 was then promoted to the deanery. In July 1257 he was appointed to a commission to mediate between King Alexander III of Scotland

Alexander III of Scotland

Alexander III was King of Scots from 1249 to his death.-Life:...

 and the Scottish nobles.

The archbishop died on 10 May 1258 and was buried in York Minster. Matthew Paris

Matthew Paris

Matthew Paris was a Benedictine monk, English chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire...

wrote that he was "a humble and holy man well skilled in law and other sciences."