Alexander de Stavenby

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Alexander de Stavenby
Denomination Catholic
Senior posting
See Diocese of Coventry and Lichfield
Title Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield
Period in office 1224–1238
Predecessor William de Cornhill
Successor William de Raley
Personal
Date of death December 26, 1238
Place of death Andover, Hampshire

Alexander de Stavenby (or Alexander of Stainsby) of was a medieval Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield.

Alexander was probably a native of Sainsby, Lincolnshire and had two brothers, William and Gilbert, who held land there. He may have studied under Stephen Langton, later archbishop of Canterbury, as Langton was from a village less than 10 miles away.[1] He taught theology at Toulouse before his elevation to the episcopate.[2] He may have been a teacher of Saint Dominic at Toulouse.[3] He also taught at Bologna and was named a chamber clerk for Pope Honorius III.[1] He was nominated as bishop about April 13, 1224, and consecrated on April 14, 1224.[4]

While bishop, he urged the people in his diocese to receive communion three times a year.[5] He also issued rules to prohibit his clergy from entering a tavern.[6] He wrote a set of statutes for his diocese, which survive, along with other works. Only two of the other works surivive, one on confession and another on the seven deadly sins.[1] While he was bishop, both Coventry and Lichfield were named as the seats of the see,[4] with the election of a new bishop taking place by the chapters of Coventry or Lichfield in rotation.[1]

He served King Henry III of England as a diplomat, undertaking many missions to Rome and France on behalf of the king. He also negotiated with envoys for the Emperor Frederick II at Antwerp and spent time in Wales trying to renew truces. In 1234 the bishop was accused of supporting Richard Marshall's rebellion, but he cleared his name before the court. Alexander was opposed to the administration Peter des Roches and at one point excommunicated those whom he called the "king's true enemies", which many took to include Roches.[1]

He died on December 26, 1238[4] at Andover, Hampshire, and was buried in Lichfield Cathedral. A chantry was established in his memory near the altar to Saint Chad.[1]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f Vincent "Stainsby , Alexander of (d. 1238)" rev. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  2. ^ Moorman Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century p. 163
  3. ^ Moorman Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century p. 368
  4. ^ a b c Fryde Handbook of British Chronology p. 253
  5. ^ Moorman Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century p. 71
  6. ^ Moorman Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century p. 233

[edit] References

  • Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology, Third Edition, revised, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X. 
  • Moorman, John R. H. Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century Revised Edition Cambridge:Cambridge University Press 1955
  • Vincent, Nicholas "Stainsby , Alexander of (d. 1238)" rev. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press, 2004 Online Edition accessed January 15, 2008
Roman Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
William de Cornhill		 Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield
1224–1238		 Succeeded by
William de Raley
Persondata
NAME Stavenby, Alexander de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stavenby, Alexander; Alexander of Stainsby
SHORT DESCRIPTION Bishop of Coventry
DATE OF BIRTH
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH December 26, 1238
PLACE OF DEATH Andover, Hampshire