Michael Tregury
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Michael Tregury, in French Michel Trégore or Trégorre (died 1471), was
Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...
from 1450 to 1471.


Life

Michael Tregury was born in the parish of
St Wenn St Wenn () is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated west of Bodmin and east of Newquay. The parish population at the 2011 census was 369. Other settlements in the parish include Rosenannon, ...
in
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
. He was educated at the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
, and was at some time a Fellow of
Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...
. He is said to have been an outstanding scholar. He was
chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...
to
Henry VI of England Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and 1470 to 1471, and English claims to the French throne, disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V of England, Henry V, he succeeded ...
and a distinguished scholar. He became the first rector of the
University of Caen The University of Caen Normandy (French: ''Université de Caen Normandie''), also known as Unicaen, is a public university in Caen, France. History The institution was founded in 1432 by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, the first rector ...
in 1439. He was
Archdeacon of Barnstaple The Archdeaconry of Barnstaple or Barum is one of the oldest archdeaconries in England. It is an administrative division of the Diocese of Exeter in the Church of England. History The Diocese of Exeter was divided into four archdeaconries in No ...
from 1445 to 1449. He was consecrated in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin and was Archbishop of Dublin from 1450 to 1471. On the journey to Ireland he was
shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. It results from the event of ''shipwrecking'', which may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately thre ...
ed and lost most of his valuables. Tregury complained that the wars with the Irish and his predecessor's mismanagement had reduced the income of the Archdiocese below £300 a year. In compensation, he was allowed to retain the income of a number of
monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...
. He was a member of the
Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...
but seems to have played little part in government, concentrating instead on governing his diocese. He faced the hostility of the Gaelic clans, notably the O'Byrnes, who kidnapped him in 1461. He was also on bad terms with the local
Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...
lords, as shown by his alleged assault on Stephen Fitzwilliam in 1465. In 1451 more than fifty people from his diocese went to Rome to celebrate the jubilee then promulgated by
Pope Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V (; ; 15 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV made him a Cardinal (Catholic Chu ...
. Those who returned safely in 1453 brought the sad news that
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
was taken by the Turks, and the Emperor
Palaiologos The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; , ; female version Palaiologina; ), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek Nobility, noble family that rose to power and produced th ...
slain. Archbishop Michael was so afflicted at the news that he proclaimed a fast to be observed strictly throughout his diocese for three successive days, and granted
indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...
s to those who observed it, he himself walking in procession before his clergy to
Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (Irish: ''Ardeaglais Theampall Chríost''), is the cathedral of the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough, United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the e ...
, and clothed in sackcloth and ashes. In 1453 he was taken prisoner in Dublin Bay by
pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...
, who were carrying off some ships from the harbour of
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. They were pursued to
Ardglass Ardglass () is a coastal fishing village, townland (of 321 acres) and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland, in the historic barony of Lecale Lower. It is still a relatively important fishing harbour. It is situated on the B1 Ardglas ...
, in
County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...
; five hundred and twenty of them were slain and the
prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...
released.Beresford, David "Tregury, Michael" ''Cambridge Dictionary of Irish Biography'' Like his predecessor Archbishop Talbot, he evidently had something of a temper: in 1465 he was accused in
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
of assaulting Stephen Fitzwilliam, with whom he had a long-standing quarrel, but acquitted. In the same year he was threatened with
litigation A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. ...
by two London
merchants A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...
, William York and his son, over a debt of £40 for which he had given a
bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Fidelity bond, a type of insurance policy for employers * Chemical bond, t ...
acknowledging that it was owing. He was a noted music lover, and owned a pair of
organs In a multicellular organism, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to a ...
, which he
bequeathed A devise is the act of giving real property by will, traditionally referring to real property. A bequest is the act of giving property by will, usually referring to personal property. Today, the two words are often used interchangeably due to thei ...
to St Patrick's Cathedral.Grattan-Flood, William ''A History of Irish Music'' Dublin Brown and Nolan 1906 Having presided over his see for twenty years, he died on 21 December 1471, at a very advanced age, in the manor-house of Tallaght, which he had previously repaired. His remains were conveyed to Dublin attended by the clergy and citizens, and were buried in
St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Saint Patrick's Cathedral () in Dublin, Ireland is the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland cathedral in Dublin, is designated as the local cathedral of the Diocese of Dublin and Glen ...
.Thomas Walsh
''History of the Irish Hierarchy''
(1854), page 119.


Burial

He was buried in Dublin and his epitaph reads:
''Preasul Metropolis Michael hic Dublinenus''
''Marmore tumbatus, pro me Christum flagitetis ''
which translates as
''Here's Michael the Prelate of Dublin See'',
''In Marble intomb'd, invoke Christ for me.''


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tregury, Michael Archbishops of Dublin 15th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Ireland Year of birth missing Academic staff of the University of Caen Normandy 1471 deaths Medieval Cornish people Burials at St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Honorary chaplains to the King Archdeacons of Barnstaple Alumni of the University of Oxford