Richard Poore

Richard Poore or Poor (died 15 April 1237) was a medieval English bishop best known for his role in the establishment of Salisbury Cathedral and the City of Salisbury, moved from the nearby fortress of Old Sarum. He served as Bishop of Chichester, Bishop of Salisbury and Bishop of Durham.

Early life

Poore was probably the son of Richard of Ilchester, also known as Richard Toclive, who served as Bishop of Winchester.British History Online Bishops of Salisbury
Retrieved 30 October 2007. He was the brother of Herbert Poore, who served as bishop of Salisbury from 1194 to 1217.British History Online Deans of Salisbury
Retrieved 30 October 2007. Richard studied under Stephen Langton at Paris.Moorman ''Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century'' p. 163 Richard Poore became Dean of Salisbury in 1197, was nominated unsuccessfully to the see of Winchester in 1205,British History Online Bishops of Winchester
Retrieved 2 November 2007. and attained the see of Durham in 1213.British History Online Bishops of Durham
Retrieved 25 October 2007. His election to Durham was disallowed by Pope Innocent III before it was made public, probably because the pope knew that King John wished for the translation of his advisor John de Gray from the see of Norwich to Durham.Harper-Bill "John and the Church" ''King John'' p. 310 During the interdict on England during King John's reign, Richard returned to Paris to teach until the interdict was lifted.Hoskin "Poor, Richard (d. 1237)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''

It was probably during these years, before Poore held an episcopal office, that he completed Osmund's ''Institutio'', as well as his own works the ''Ordinale'' and the ''Consuetudinarium''. The ''Institutio'' detailed the duties of the cathedral clergy at Salisbury, along with their rights. The ''Ordinale'' covered the liturgy, and how the various specialised services interacted with the basic divine service. The last work, the ''Consuetudinarium'', gave the customs of Salisbury itself. Both the ''Consuetudinarium'' and the ''Ordinale'' were basically guides to the Sarum Rite, the usual form of liturgy in thirteenth century England. While he was dean, he also encouraged Robert of Flamborough to write a penitential.Mortimer ''Angevin England'' p. 201

Poore was Bishop of Chichester in 1215, being elected about 7 JanuaryFryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 239 and consecrated on 25 January at Reading.British History Online Bishops of Chichester
Retrieved 20 October 2007. He attended the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215.Moorman ''Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century'' p. 237 He also served as one of the executors of King John's estate.

Bishop of Salisbury

Poore's brother Herbert died in 1217, and Richard succeeded to his position as Bishop of Salisbury by 27 June.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 270 He owed his move to the see of Salisbury to the papal legate, Cardinal Guala Bicchieri. It was during this time that he oversaw and helped plan the construction of the new Salisbury Cathedral as a replacement for the old cathedral at Old Sarum.Moorman ''Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century'' p. 236 He also laid out the town of Salisbury in 1219, to allow the workers building the cathedral a less cramped town than the old garrison town at Old Sarum.Mortimer ''Angevin England'' p. 175 The cathedral, however, was not dedicated until 1258.Mortimer ''Angevin England'' p. 227

It was while Poore was at Salisbury that he issued his ''Statutes of Durham'', which derived their name from the fact that he reissued them after being moved to the see of Durham. These statutes were influential on much other episcopal legislation.Moorman ''Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century'' p. 236-238Prestwich ''Plantagenet England'' p. 99 He also welcomed the first Franciscan friars to Salisbury around 1225.Moorman ''Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century'' p. 370 He served as a royal justice in 1218 and 1219. In 1223, with the fall from power of Peter des Roches (bishop of Winchester), Ranulph earl of Chester, and Falkes de Bréauté, Poore helped Hubert de Burgh take over the government, along with Stephen Langton and Jocelin of Wells (bishop of Bath and Wells). The four men worked together to govern England for the next five years.

While Poore was at Salisbury, he took part in the translation of St Wulfstan in 1218, and in the translation of Saint Thomas Becket's relics in 1220. At the later event, he was the only other bishop besides Stephen Langton actually to examine Becket's body. Poore petitioned Pope Gregory IX to have the second bishop of Salisbury, Osmund de Sees, canonized, but was unsuccessful. Osmund was eventually made a saint in 1457.

Bishop of Durham

Poore was translated to the see of Durham on 14 May 1228.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 241 Afterwards he withdrew from royal service, although he was briefly back in service when Peter des Roches returned to power in late 1232 and early 1233. At Durham, he inherited a quarrel between the bishop and the cathedral chapter that mainly involved the election of the prior and the right of the bishop to undertake visitations of the priory. The quarrel had begun under Richard Marsh, and had led to appeals to the papal curia from the monks. Soon after coming to Durham, Richard issued a set of detailed constitutions that governed many of the relations between the bishop, the prior, and the cathedral chapter, and which was the basis of church government in Durham until the Dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII.

Legacy and death

In 1220, while Poore was bishop of Salisbury, he ordered his clergy to instruct a few children so that the children might in turn teach the rest of the children in basic church doctrine and prayers. He also had the clergy preach every Sunday that children should not be left alone in a house with a fire or water.Moorman ''Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century'' pp. 81–82 Also during his time in Salisbury, he promoted the education of boys by endowing some schoolmasters with benefices provided they did not charge for instruction.Moorman ''Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century'' p. 105 In 1237, he established a retirement house for the old and infirm clergy of the diocese of Durham.Moorman ''Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century'' p. 202 Poore was also an opponent of pluralism, the holding of more than one benefice at the same time. He not only held that a clerk receiving a new benefice should give up the old one, but that if the clerk protested about the loss, he should lose both benefices.Moorman ''Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century'' p. 220 He also decreed that the clergy should not be involved in "worldly business".Moorman ''Church Life in England in the Thirteenth Century'' p. 232 Poore House at Bishop Wordsworth's School, Salisbury is named in honour of his legacy to Salisbury schools.

Poore died on 15 April 1237 at the manor of Tarrant Keyneston in Dorset. His tomb was claimed for both Durham and Salisbury, but most likely he was buried in the church at Tarrant Keyneston which was what he had wished. He is commemorated with a statue in niche 170 on the west front of Salisbury Cathedral.

Citations

References

British History Online Bishops of Chichester
accessed on 20 October 2007

British History Online Bishops of Durham
accessed on 25 October 2007

British History Online Bishops of Salisbury
accessed on 20 October 2007

British History Online Bishops of Winchester
accessed on 2 November 2007

British History Online Deans of Salisbury
accessed on 30 October 2007
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Poore, Richard
Year of birth unknown
1237 deaths
Bishops of Durham
Bishops of Chichester
Bishops of Salisbury
13th-century English Roman Catholic bishops
Deans of Salisbury