__NOTOC__
Leofwin (or Leofwine; died after 1071) was a medieval
Bishop of Lichfield
The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West M ...
.
Appointed to the see by King
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex.
Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...
of England, Leofwin was a monk before becoming a bishop.
[Knowles ''Monastic Order'' p. 71 footnote 2] For a time, he was abbot of the abbey of Coventry as well as bishop, but he was no longer abbot at the time of the
Norman Conquest of England
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
.
[Knowles ''Monastic Order'' p. 111 footnote 4] He may have owed his promotion to Lichfield to
Leofric, Earl of Mercia
Leofric (died 31 August or 30 September 1057) was an Earl of Mercia. He founded monasteries at Coventry and Much Wenlock and was a very powerful earl under King Cnut and his successors. Leofric was the husband of Lady Godiva.
Life
Leofric was ...
and Leofric's family.
[Barlow ''English Church'' p. 109 footnote 3] He was consecrated in 1053, but he went overseas to be consecrated because of the irregular election of Archbishop
Stigand of Canterbury.
[Powell and Wallis ''House of Lords'' p. 13 footnote 8] Around 1068, he was the recipient of a writ from King
William I of England
William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was ...
, which shows that he had accommodated himself to the Conquest.
[Powell and Wallis ''House of Lords'' p. 14] According to the ''Handbook of British Chronology'', he died in 1067,
[Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 219] but he continues to appear in documentary evidence, and most historians, such as
Frank Barlow, believe that he was deprived of his see in 1070 and died sometime after that.
[Barlow ''Feudal Kingdom of England'' p. 93] He was a married bishop,
[Huscroft ''Ruling England'' p. 45] and it appears that he was aware that he was unlikely to be allowed to retain his bishopric because of his marital status. He refused to appear at the council held in London on 7 April 1070, despite being summoned to answer charges for his marriage. He was condemned as contumacious in his absence, and a year later he officially resigned his see and retired to
Coventry Abbey.
[Powell and Wallis ''House of Lords'' p. 34][Douglas ''William the Conqueror'' p. 324][Williams ''English and the Norman Conquest'' p. 45 footnote 3] The new
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
,
Lanfranc, had already denounced Leofwin's marriage.
Leofwin was a nephew of
Leofric, Earl of Mercia
Leofric (died 31 August or 30 September 1057) was an Earl of Mercia. He founded monasteries at Coventry and Much Wenlock and was a very powerful earl under King Cnut and his successors. Leofric was the husband of Lady Godiva.
Life
Leofric was ...
.
[Knowles ''Monastic Order'' p. 103] The see of Lichfield remained vacant until 1072, when a successor was appointed.
[
]
Citations
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leofwin
Bishops of Lichfield
11th-century deaths
11th-century English Roman Catholic bishops
Year of birth unknown