Richard le Grant was

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 ...

from 1229 to 1231.

Biography

Grant was a native of Nazeing,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

and had a brother and sister whom he provided for after he became archbishop.Lawrence "Grant, Richard" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' He was chancellor of the see of Lincoln when Henry III nominated him to be Archbishop of Canterbury in opposition to

Walter d'Eynsham Walter d'Eynsham, also known as Walter de Hempsham was a medieval Archbishop of Canterbury-elect. Walter was a monk of Christ Church Priory in Canterbury, when he was chosen to be the Archbishop of Canterbury on 3 August 1228 by his fellow monks ...

in 1229.Powell and Wallis ''House of Lords'' pp. 150–151 He had been chancellor of Lincoln since at least 16 December 1220, when he first occurs in documents in that office.Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 3: Lincoln: Chancellors
' He was also a distinguished writer.Moorman ''Church Life'' p. 162 and teacher. Grant was provided to the see of Canterbury on 19 January 1229 by Pope

Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX (; born Ugolino di Conti; 1145 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decretales'' and instituting the P ...

, and received the temporalities of the see probably on 24 March 1231. He was consecrated on 10 June 1229.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 233 He was recommended for the see by Alexander de Stavenby, the Bishop of Coventry, and Henry Sandford, the

Bishop of Rochester The Bishop of Rochester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester, Kent, Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Rochester Cathedral, Cathedral Chur ...

, who wrote to the pope on Richard's behalf. On 26 January 1231, at a council at

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

Grant, along with other bishops, objected to Henry III's earlier demand of a second

scutage Scutage was a medieval English tax levied on holders of a knight's fee under the feudal land tenure of knight-service. Under feudalism the king, through his vassals, provided land to knights for their support. The knights owed the king militar ...

payment. Grant found himself in conflict with Hubert de Burgh, the Justiciar, over the wardship of the de Clare estates at Towbridge, which conflict the archbishop lost after King

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of John, King of England, King John and Isabella of Ang ...

sided with his justiciar. Grant then attempted to implement reforms in the clergy over the issue of pluralism and the employment of the clergy in the royal government. In pursuit of this aim, he journeyed to Rome to enlist the papacy's aid, but after a favourable reception at the Curia, he died on his return journey to England on 3 August 1231 in Italy.Powell and Wallis ''House of Lords'' p. 157 He was buried in San Gemini in

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

. It has been speculated that he is the same as Richard of Wetheringsett, the earliest known

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, who served some time between 1215 and 1232, and author of the .Goering "Summa ''Qui bene presunt'' ''Literature and Religion'' pp. 143-159

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* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Richard le Richard le Grant 13th-century English Roman Catholic archbishops le Grant, Richard Burials in Umbria Year of birth unknown