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| Thomas Arundel (archbishop) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Thomas Arundel |
| Honorific-prefix | Archbishop of Canterbury |
| Birth date | c. 1353 |
| Birth place | London, Kingdom of England |
| Death date | 19 February 1414 |
| Death place | Rome, Papal States |
| Nationality | English |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Alma mater | Oxford University |
| Title | Archbishop of Canterbury |
| Predecessor | Richard Scrope |
| Successor | Henry Chichele |
Thomas Arundel (archbishop) was an English prelate and political figure who served as Archbishop of York and twice as Archbishop of Canterbury during the late 14th and early 15th centuries. A member of the aristocratic Arundel family, he played a central role in the power struggles between Richard II and the nobility, helped engineer the accession of Henry IV, and shaped English policy on heresy and ecclesiastical authority during the reigns of Henry IV and the early years of Henry V. His career intersected with leading figures and institutions of medieval England, including the House of Lancaster, the House of Plantagenet, the Papacy, and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
Born circa 1353 in London, Thomas Arundel was the second son of Sir John Arundel of Lanherne and Agnes Maltravers, members of the Anglo-Norman gentry associated with the earldom of Cornwall and estates in Sussex and Cornwall. His elder brother, Richard Arundel, inherited the family estates while Thomas pursued an ecclesiastical career, aligning him with other younger scions such as William Arundel and the wider network of the Arundell family. Thomas’s pedigree linked him to magnates like the Earl of Arundel and to factions centered on the Percy family and the Beauforts, situating him within the aristocratic milieu that dominated late medieval English politics. Educated at Oxford University, he entered royal service and gained patronage ties with figures in the Royal Household and the chancery under Edward III’s successors.
Arundel’s ecclesiastical advancement began with appointments such as prebends and the deanery of York Minster, supported by his connections to the crown and nobility, including patrons at Court of Richard II and advisors at the Council of the Realm. He was consecrated Bishop of Ely before being translated to the archbishopric of York in 1373 and later translated to Canterbury in 1396, succeeding the turbulent succession of prelates like William Courtenay and contemporaries such as Richard Scrope. Arundel exercised metropolitan jurisdiction over the province of Canterbury and engaged with ecclesiastical institutions including the Exchequer of the Clergy, monastic houses such as St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury, and the cathedral chapters of Lincoln and Winchester. His episcopal career involved disputes over rights and revenues with bishops like Henry Le Despenser and interactions with papal provisions from the Roman Curia.
A vigorous opponent of Richard II, Arundel allied with magnates including the Duke of Gloucester (Thomas of Woodstock), the Earl of Northumberland (Henry Percy), and later the future Henry IV (Henry Bolingbroke). He participated in the parliamentary confrontations of the 1380s, aligning with critics such as Thomas of Woodstock and legalists in the House of Lords who challenged royal favorites like Michael de la Pole and Robert de Vere. Arundel was implicated in the 1387–1388 period leading to the Merciless Parliament, supporting commissions that punished royal associates and pressing for limitations on the king’s household and patronage. His opposition culminated in his exile in the 1390s after falling afoul of Richard II’s assertive authority, during which he sought refuge with allies including members of the House of Lancaster and received support from ecclesiastical figures in Avignon and the Holy See.
Arundel returned from exile to play a pivotal role in the 1399 crisis when Henry Bolingbroke invaded England, deposed Richard II, and took the throne as Henry IV. Arundel provided clerical sanction and counsel to the Lancastrian cause, working with secular leaders such as the Earl of Salisbury and legal authorities at the Parliament of 1399 to legitimize the deposition and Henry’s coronation. Once restored as Archbishop of Canterbury, Arundel served as a principal ecclesiastical adviser to Henry IV, participating in royal councils, issuing dispensations, and overseeing the church’s response to rebellions including the uprisings led by Owain Glyndŵr and the Percys. His collaboration with Lancastrian administrators like Henry Beaufort and courtroom figures such as Sir Thomas Erpingham reinforced the alliance between crown and church during the consolidation of Lancastrian rule.
As primate, Arundel pursued a conservative ecclesiastical policy emphasizing clerical discipline, orthodoxy, and metropolitan authority. He presided over ecclesiastical courts and enforced statutes affecting clerical behavior, working with bishops like Henry Chichele and monastic leaders at Westminster Abbey to regulate benefices and licenses. Arundel was prominent in suppressing religious dissent, most notably moving against proponents of Lollardy associated with John Wycliffe, targeting figures such as William Sawtrey and later influencing measures that led to the Suppression of Heresy under Lancastrian statutes. He sought papal confirmation for reforms from Pope Boniface IX and engaged with legal instruments like royal writs and provincial synods to curb unauthorized preaching and book circulation, cooperating with university authorities at Oxford to oppose heterodox teachings.
In his final years Arundel continued to mediate between crown and church, participating in diplomatic missions to the Papacy and advising on continental concerns including relations with the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire. He died in Rome on 19 February 1414, having secured his episcopal achievements and influenced successors including Henry Chichele and Thomas Langley. Arundel’s legacy includes the reinforcement of metropolitan jurisdiction, the institutional response to Lollardy that shaped English religious policy, and his role in the Lancastrian succession that altered the trajectory of the House of Plantagenet. His interventions in ecclesiastical law, university regulation, and royal politics left a contested imprint on the church-state relationship in late medieval England.
Category:Archbishops of Canterbury Category:14th-century English people Category:15th-century English clergy