Stephen Bersted (died 1287) was a medieval

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's s ...

Life

Bersted was from a humble background, and came from Bersted, Sussex which at the time was part of the archbishop of Canterbury's estate at Pagham. He studied at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, and was a regent of theology there for a time.Knowles "Bersted, Stephen" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' He was a canon of

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...

and a chaplain to Richard of Chichester when Richard was bishop of Chichester. Bersted was elected to the see of Chichester between 26 May and 20 June 1262. He was consecrated on 24 September 1262Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 239 at

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

. He was a supporter of Simon de Montfort which earned him a suspension from office on 1 December 1265 by the

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

Ottobuono, but after traveling to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, he was absolved by Pope

Gregory X Pope Gregory X ( la, Gregorius X; – 10 January 1276), born Teobaldo Visconti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1271 to his death and was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order. He was ...

on 26 November 1272. King Edward I of England however, confiscated his lands on his return from Rome, only restoring them to the bishop on 20 April 1273. Stephen served as one of the three electors of the nine members of the council that Montfort set up after the

Battle of Lewes The Battle of Lewes was one of two main battles of the conflict known as the Second Barons' War. It took place at Lewes in Sussex, on 14 May 1264. It marked the high point of the career of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, and made h ...

in 1264. Bersted served with Montfort himself and Gilbert de Clare,

Earl of Gloucester The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play ''King Lear.'' Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation (1121) *Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (1100 ...

.Prestwich ''Plantagenet England'' pp. 114–115 By June 1276 he was back in royal favor, for King

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Duchy of Aquitaine, Aquitaine and D ...

attended the ceremony held that month where Bersted oversaw the translation of the relics of Richard of Chichester to a new shrine. Bersted became blind a few years before he died on 21 October 1287. He was probably related to Thomas Bersted who was Dean of Chichester, and another Stephen of Bersted who was also a canon of Chichester.

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bersted, Stephen 1287 deaths Bishops of Chichester 13th-century English Roman Catholic bishops Year of birth unknown People from Bersted