Thomas Merke

Thomas Merke (died 1409) was an English priest and Bishop of Carlisle from 1397 to 1400. Educated at Oxford University, be became a Benedictine monk at Westminster Abbey. He served Richard II as ambassador to various German princes in 1397, was one of the commissioners who negotiated the dowry of Isabella of Valois in 1398, and accompanied the king to Ireland in 1399. He supported Richard against the usurper Henry IV and in 1400 was imprisoned in the Tower of London and deprived of his bishopric as a result. He was, however, released and conditionally pardoned the following year, although not restored to the bishopric. He thereafter served as a deputy and acting bishop in the Diocese of Winchester several times. He was one of those churchmen who sided against Pope Gregory XII at Lucca in 1408.

Religious Posts
Preceded by Robert Reed	Bishop of Carlisle 1397–1400	Succeeded by William Strickland