| Hugh of Avalon | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Lincoln | |
Saint Hugh of Lincoln with his swan, Altarpiece from the Carthusian monastery of Saint-Honoré, Thuison, near Abbeville, France, ca 1490-1500 |
|
| Diocese | Diocese of Lincoln |
| Elected | 25 May 1186 |
| Reign ended | 16 November 1200 |
| Predecessor | Walter de Coutances |
| Successor | William de Blois |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 21 September 1186 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | between 1135 and 1140 Avalon, France |
| Died | 16 November 1200 London, England |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sainthood | |
| Feast day | 16 November (R.C.C.) 17 November (Anglican) |
| Canonized | 17 February 1220 by Pope Honorius III |
| Attributes | a white swan |
| Patronage | sick children, sick people, shoemakers, and swans |
Hugh of Lincoln (also Hugh of Avalon or Hugh of Burgundy; 1135/1140 – London, 16 November 1200) was at the time of the Reformation the best-known English saint after Thomas Becket.
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Hugh was born at the château of Avalon,[1] at the border of the Dauphiné with Savoy, the son of William, seigneur of Avalon. His mother Anna died when he was eight, and his father retired to the nearby priory of Villard Benoît at Pontcharra near Grenoble, taking his young son with him.
Hugh did very well, and was suited to the monastic religious life, becoming deacon at the age of nineteen. About 1159 he was sent to be prior of the monastery nearby at Saint-Maximin, then entered the Grande Chartreuse,[1] at the height of its reputation for the rigid austerity of its rules and the earnest piety of its members. There he rose to become procurator, until he was sent in 1179 to become prior of Witham in Somerset, the first English Carthusian house.[1]
Henry II of England, as part of his penance for the murder of Thomas Becket, in lieu of going on crusade as he had promised in his first remorse, had established a Carthusian monastery (charterhouse) some time before, which was settled by monks brought from the Grande Chartreuse. There were difficulties in advancing the building works, however, and the first prior was retired and a second soon died. Henry learned of Hugh and sent an influential embassy to demand his services. Most reluctantly, the Carthusians let him go.
Hugh found the monks in great straits, living in log huts and with no plans yet advanced for the more permanent monastery building. Hugh interceded with the king for royal patronage and at last, probably on 6 January 1182, Henry issued a charter of foundation and endowment for Witham Charterhouse. Hugh presided over the new house till 1186 and attracted many to the monastery. Among the frequent visitors was King Henry, for the Charterhouse lay near the borders of the king's chase in Selwood Forest, a favorite hunting ground. Hugh admonished Henry for keeping dioceses vacant in order to keep their income for the royal chancellery.
In May 1186, Henry summoned a council of bishops and barons at Eynsham Abbey to deliberate on the state of the Church and the filling of vacant bishoprics, including Lincoln. On 25 May 1186 the canons of Lincoln were ordered to elect a new bishop and Hugh was elected.[1] Hugh insisted on a second, private election by the cathedral chapter, securely in their Chapterhouse at Lincoln rather than in the King's chapel. His election was confirmed by the results.
Hugh was consecrated Bishop of Lincoln on 21 September 1186[2] at Westminster.[1] Almost immediately he established his independence of the King, excommunicating a royal forester and refusing to seat one of Henry's courtly nominees as a prebendary of Lincoln, but softened the king's anger by his diplomatic address and tactful charm. As a bishop he was exemplary, constantly in residence or travelling within his diocese, generous with his charity, scrupulous in the appointments he made. He raised the quality of education at the cathedral school. Hugh was also prominent in trying to protect the Jews, great numbers of whom lived in Lincoln, in the persecution they suffered at the beginning of Richard I's reign, and he put down popular violence against them in several places.
Lincoln Cathedral had been badly damaged by an earthquake in 1185, and Bishop Hugh set about rebuilding and greatly enlarging it in the new Gothic style; however, he only lived to see the choir well begun. In 1194, he expanded the St Mary Magdalen's Church, Oxford.
As one of the premier bishops of the Kingdom of England Hugh more than once accepted the role of diplomat to France for Richard and then for King John in 1199, a trip that ruined his health. He consecrated St Giles' Church, Oxford, in 1200. There is a cross consisting of interlaced circles cut into the western column of the tower that is believed to commemorate this. Also in commemoration of the consecration, St Giles' Fair was established and continues to this day each September.[3] While attending a national council in London, a few months later, he was stricken with an unnamed ailment, and died two months later on 16 November 1200.[2] He was buried in Lincoln Cathedral.
Hugh's primary emblem is a white swan, in reference to the story of the swan of Stowe which had a deep and lasting friendship with the saint, even guarding him while he slept. The swan would follow him about, and was his constant companion while he was at Lincoln.
Hugh was canonized by Pope Honorius III on 17 February 1220,[1] and is the patron saint of sick children, sick people, shoemakers, and swans. Hugh is honored in the Church of England and in the Episcopal Church (USA) on November 17.
Hugh's Vita, or written life, was composed by his chaplain Adam of Eynsham, a Benedictine monk and his constant associate; it remains in manuscript form in the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
Hugh is the eponym of St Hugh's College, Oxford, where a 1926 statue of the saint stands on the stairs of the Howard Piper Library. In his right hand, he holds an effigy of Lincoln Cathedral, and his left hand rests on the head of a swan.
At the site of Avalon, a round tower in the Romantic Gothic style was built by the Carthusians in the 19th century in Hugh's honour.[4]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Walter de Coutances |
Bishop of Lincoln 1186–1200 |
Succeeded by William de Blois |