Thomas Langton
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Thomas Langton (died 27 January 1501) was chaplain to King Edward IV, before becoming successively
Bishop of St David's The Bishop of St Davids is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St Davids. The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the city of St Davids in Pembrokeshire, ...
,
Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...
, Bishop of Winchester, and Archbishop-elect of Canterbury.


Early life

Langton was born in
Appleby-in-Westmorland Appleby-in-Westmorland is a market town and civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, with a population of 3,048 at the 2011 Census. Crossed by the River Eden, Appleby was the county town of the historic county of Westmorland. It ...
, and educated by the Carmelite
friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...
s there. He
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at
Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...
, but soon removed to
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
, probably to Clare Hall, on account of the
plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...
. In 1461 he was elected
fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...
of
Pembroke Hall Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...
, serving as proctor in 1462. While at Cambridge he took both degrees in
canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
, and was afterwards incorporated in them at Oxford. In 1464 he left the university, and some time before 1476 was made chaplain to King Edward IV. Langton was in high favour with the king, who trusted him much, and sent him on various important
embassies A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
. In 1467 he went as ambassador to France, and as king's chaplain was sent to treat with Ferdinand II, king of Aragon, on 24 November 1476. He visited France again on diplomatic business on 30 November 1477, and on 11 August 1478, to conclude the espousals of Edward's daughter
Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
and Charles, son of the French king. Two years later he was sent to demand the fulfilment of this marriage treaty, but the prince, now
Charles VIII, king of France Charles VIII, called the Affable (french: l'Affable; 30 June 1470 – 7 April 1498), was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13.Paul Murray Kendall, ''Louis XI: The Universal Spider'' (New ...
, refused to carry it out, and the match was broken off.


Career

Meanwhile, Langton received much ecclesiastical preferment. In 1478 he was made treasurer of Exeter,
prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of th ...
of St. Decuman's,
Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, whose cathedra it holds as mother church of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Built as a ...
, and about the same time master of St. Julian's Hospital, Southampton, a post which he still retained twenty years later. He was presented on 1 July 1480 to All Hallows Church, Bread Street, and on 14 May 1482 to
All Hallows, Lombard Street All Hallows Lombard Street, also seen with descriptor Gracechurch Street, was a parish church in the City of London. It stood behind thin buildings fronting both streets, in Langbourn Ward, The west and south sides faced into Ball Alley. Of ...
, City of London, also becoming prebendary of North Kelsey, Lincoln Cathedral, in the next year. Probably by the favour of
King Edward V Edward V (2 November 1470 – mid-1483)R. F. Walker, "Princes in the Tower", in S. H. Steinberg et al, ''A New Dictionary of British History'', St. Martin's Press, New York, 1963, p. 286. was ''de jure'' King of England and Lord of Ireland fro ...
, who granted him the
temporalities Temporalities or temporal goods are the secular properties and possessions of the church. The term is most often used to describe those properties (a ''Stift'' in German or ''sticht'' in Dutch) that were used to support a bishop or other religious ...
of the see on 21 May, Langton was advanced in 1483 to the bishopric of St. Davids; the papal bull confirming the election is dated 4 July, and he was consecrated in August or September. Langton's prosperity did not decline with Edward V's deposition. He was sent on an embassy to Rome and to France by
King Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Batt ...
, who
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him to the
bishopric of Salisbury The Diocese of Salisbury is a Church of England diocese in the south of England, within the ecclesiastical Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of Dorset (excepting the deaneries of Bournemouth and Christchurch, which fall within the ...
by papal bull dated 8 February 1485. Langton was also elected provost of
Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...
, on 6 December 1487, a post which he seems to have retained till 1495. He was a considerable benefactor to the college, where he built some new sets of rooms and enlarged the provost's lodgings. In 1493
King Henry VII Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufo ...
transferred him from Salisbury to Winchester, a
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which had been vacant over a year. During the seven years that he was bishop of Winchester Langton started a school in the precincts of the palace, where he had youths trained in
grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domain ...
and music. He was a good musician himself, used to examine the scholars in person, and encourage them by good words and small rewards. Finally, a proof of his ever-increasing popularity, Langton was elected Archbishop of Canterbury on 22 January 1501, but died of the
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on the 27th, before the confirmation of the deed. He was buried in a marble tomb within 'a very fair chapel' which he had built south of the lady-chapel in
Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...
.


Death

Before his death he had given 10 pounds towards the erection of Great St. Mary's Church, Cambridge, and in 1497 a drinking-cup, weighing 67
ounce The ounce () is any of several different units of mass, weight or volume and is derived almost unchanged from the , an Ancient Roman unit of measurement. The avoirdupois ounce (exactly ) is avoirdupois pound; this is the United States customa ...
s, called the 'Anathema Cup,' to
Pembroke Hall Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...
. This is the oldest extant hanap or covered cup that is hall-marked. By his will, dated 16 January 1501, Langton left large sums of money to the priests of
Clare Hall, Cambridge Clare Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1966 by Clare College, Clare Hall is a college for advanced study, admitting only postgraduate students alongside postdoctoral researchers and fellows. It ...
, money and
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s to the fellows and priests of
Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...
, besides legacies to the friars at both universities, and to the Carmelites at Appleby-in-Westmorland. To his sister and her husband, Rowland Machel, lands (probably the family estates) in
Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...
and two hundred
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were bequeathed. An annual pension of eight marks was set aside to maintain a chapel at Appleby-in-Westmorland for a hundred years to pray for the souls of Langton, his parents, and all the faithful deceased at Appleby-in-Westmorland.


Citations


References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Langton, Thomas 15th-century births 1501 deaths Archbishops of Canterbury Bishops of St Davids Bishops of Salisbury Bishops of Winchester 16th-century English Roman Catholic bishops 15th-century English Roman Catholic bishops Provosts of The Queen's College, Oxford English chaplains Catholic chaplains People from Appleby-in-Westmorland Burials at Winchester Cathedral Chancellors of the Order of the Garter