Stephen Bersted (died 1287) was a medieval

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East Sussex, East and West Sussex. The Episcopal see, see is based in t ...

Life

Bersted was from a humble background, and came from Bersted, Sussex which at the time was part of the

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 ...

's estate at Pagham. He studied at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a 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 second-oldest continuously operating u ...

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

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

and a chaplain to

Richard of Chichester Richard of Chichester (1197 – 3 April 1253), also known as Richard de Wych, is a saint (canonized 1262) who was Bishop of Chichester. In Chichester Cathedral a shrine dedicated to Richard had become a richly decorated centre of pilgrimag ...

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 City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

. 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, to some other part of the Catho ...

Ottobuono, but after traveling to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, he was absolved by Pope

Gregory X Pope Gregory 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 Third Order of St. Francis. He was elected at th ...

on 26 November 1272. King

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...

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 ...

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 Peerage of England, England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play ''King Lear.'' Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation (1121) *Robert, 1st Earl ...

.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 (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

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.

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