Roger Walden (died 1406) was an English treasurer and Bishop of London.

Life

Little is now known of Walden's birth nor of his early years. He had some connection with the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

, and resided for some time in

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

where he was rector of the

Parish Church of St Helier The Parish Church of St Helier is the parish church of the parish of Saint Helier, Jersey. It is a Church of England church, one of the twelve 'Ancient Parish Churches' of Jersey, and serves as the Island's civic church and Pro-Cathedral. His ...

from 1371 to 1378. He then held livings in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

before he became Archdeacon of Winchester in 1387. His days, however, were by no means fully occupied with his ecclesiastical duties, and in 1387 also he was appointed Treasurer of Calais, holding about the same time other positions in this neighbourhood. In 1395, after having served

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

as secretary, Walden became

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

of England,Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 106 adding the deanery of York to his numerous other

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

s. On 8 November 1397 he was chosen

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 ...

in succession to

Thomas Arundel Thomas Arundel (1353 – 19 February 1414) was an English clergyman who served as Lord Chancellor and Archbishop of York during the reign of Richard II, as well as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1397 and from 1399 until his death, an outspoken o ...

,Fryde ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 233 who had just been banished from the realm, but he lost this position when the new king Henry IV restored Arundel in 1399, and after a short imprisonment he passed into retirement, being, as he himself says, "in the dust and under feet of men." On 10 December 1405, through Arundel's influence, Walden was elected

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

, and he died at

Much Hadham Much Hadham, formerly known as Great Hadham, is a village and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire, England. The parish of Much Hadham contains the hamlets of Perry Green and Green Tye, as well as the village of Muc ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

on 6 January 1406.Fryde ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 258 He was buried in

St. Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

. DNB: Roger Walden An ''Historia Mundi'', the manuscript of which is in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, is sometimes regarded as the work of Walden; but this was doubtless written by an earlier writer.

Citations

References

Attribution

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walden, Roger 1406 deaths 14th-century English Roman Catholic archbishops Archbishops of Canterbury Bishops of London Archdeacons of Winchester (ancient) 15th-century English Roman Catholic bishops Lord high treasurers of England Treasurers of Calais Year of birth unknown Jersey clergy Burials at St Paul's Cathedral