Walter Mauclerk

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Walter Mauclerk
In office
13 Nov 1228 – 1233
Monarch Henry III
Preceded by Eustace of Fauconberg
Succeeded by Peter des Rivaux
Died about October 28, 1248
Oxford
Religion Christian:Catholic
Walter Mauclerk
Denomination Catholic
Senior posting
See Diocese of Carlisle
Title Bishop of Carlisle
Period in office 1223–1246
Predecessor Hugh of Beaulieu
Successor Silvester de Everdon
Religious career
Previous post Canon of Carlisle Cathedral
Personal
Date of death about October 28, 1248
Place of death Oxford


Walter Mauclerk (or Walter Mauclerc) was a medieval Bishop of Carlisle and Lord High Treasurer of England.

[edit] Life

His origins are unknown, although he had a brother who was prior of Reading Abbey. Another kinsman, possibly a nephew, Robert Barri was named prior of Carlisle Cathedral while Walter was bishop. He is first recorded as a financial clerk in Normandy in 1202, and then later that same year as holding a church in Falaise. With the loss of Normandy, he returned to England and the king's court.[1] He served King John of England in Rome as an envoy to Pope Innocent III in 1214 where he was expected to neutralize any baronial agents that might be sent. At the time, he was a royal clerk.[2] He served as a royal justice in the Midlands in 1218.[1] He was a canon of Carlisle Cathedral[3] before he was elected to the see of Carlisle about August 22, 1223 and was consecrated that winter.[4]

He continued to serve King Henry III of England, going to Cologne in 1225 as part of a diplomatic mission attempting to arrange a marriage between the king and a daughter of the duke of Austria. In 1227 he was in Poitou on the king's business.[1] He was Treasurer from 1228 to 1233, [5] when he was expelled from office even though he had been granted the office for life. This was a side effect of the fall from power of Hubert de Burgh during King Henry III of England's reign.[6] However, with the fall from power of Peter des Roches Walter returned to royal service. In 1235 he was once more in charge of an embassy attempting to find a bride for King Henry, this time to Flanders for a daughter of the count of Ponthieu.[1]

He resigned the see on June 26, 1246 and died about October 28, 1248[4] at Oxford.[1] He resigned the bishopric to become a Dominican at Oxford.[3] During his time as bishop, he set the financial affairs of his diocese on a firm footing, and left most of his property to the diocese or to the Dominicans at Oxford.[1]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f Vincent "Mauclerk, Walter (d. 1248)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Online Edition accessed November 20, 2007
  2. ^ Jones King John and Magna Carta p. 50
  3. ^ a b British History Online Bishops of Carlisle accessed on October 20, 2007
  4. ^ a b Fryde Handbook of British Chronology p. 235
  5. ^ Fryde Handbook of British Chronology p. 103
  6. ^ Powell The House of Lords p. 154

[edit] References

  • British History Online Bishops of Carlisle accessed on October 20, 2007
  • 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. 
  • Jones, J. A. P. King John and Magna Carta London:Longman 1971 ISBN 0-582-31463-1
  • Powell, J. Enoch and Keith Wallis The House of Lords in the Middle Ages: A History of the English House of Lords to 1540 London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1968
  • Vincent, Nicholas "Mauclerk, Walter (d. 1248)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press, 2004 Online Edition accessed November 20, 2007
Political offices
Preceded by
Eustace of Fauconberg		 Lord High Treasurer
1228–1233		 Succeeded by
Peter des Rivaux
Roman Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Hugh of Beaulieu		 Bishop of Carlisle
1223–1246		 Succeeded by
Silvester de Everdon
Persondata
NAME Mauclerk, Walter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mauclerc, Walter
SHORT DESCRIPTION Bishop of Carlisle
DATE OF BIRTH
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH about October 28, 1248
PLACE OF DEATH