Thomas Minot
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Thomas Minot, also spelt Mynot or Mynyot (died 10 July 1375) was an English-born
judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, ass ...
and cleric in fourteenth-century Ireland. He was
Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...
from 1363 to 1375. He is chiefly remembered for his extensive restoration works to
St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Saint Patrick's Cathedral () in Dublin, Ireland is the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland cathedral in Dublin, is designated as the local cathedral of ...
, and in particular for rebuilding the Cathedral's tower, which is still called Minot's Tower.


Early career

He came from a north of England family which had a tradition of service to the
English Crown This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself king of the Anglo-Sax ...
. He may have been a cousin of Laurence Minot, the
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
, although almost nothing is known for certain of Laurence's life.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 Vol.1 p.81 Richard Mynot, who came to Ireland with Thomas and accompanied him on his final journey back to England, was probably his nephew. He was presented to the living of Nothorpe,
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
in 1349, and to that of
Seaton, Rutland Seaton is a village and civil parish in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The population of the civil parish was 178 at the 2001 census, including Stoke Dry and Thorpe by Water, increasing to 250 at the 2011 census. Nearby i ...
in 1351. He was sent to Ireland in 1354 as
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
St Mary's Cathedral, Limerick Saint Mary's Cathedral, Limerick, is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Limerick (city), Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Blessed Virgin Mary. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Province o ...
, and in 1356 he was appointed Third Baron of the
Court of Exchequer (Ireland) The Court of Exchequer (Ireland), or the Irish Exchequer of Pleas, was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was the mirror image of the equivalent court in England. The Court of Exchequer was one of the four royal courts of jus ...
to "supervise and hasten the interests of the King". He also served as Chief
Escheator Escheat () is a common law doctrine that transfers the real property of a person who has died without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in "limbo" without recognized ownership. It originally applied to ...
of Ireland in the late 1350s, and numerous entries in the
Close Rolls The Close Rolls () are an administrative record created in medieval England, Wales, Ireland and the Channel Islands by the royal chancery, in order to preserve a central record of all letters close issued by the chancery in the name of the Crown ...
for 1358 show that he was kept busy dealing with a flood of queries about the state of the Crown lands.''Close Roll 32 Edward III'' Unlike many of the medieval Irish Barons of the Exchequer, who were laymen (a fact which gave rise to frequent complaints about their ignorance of the law) Thomas had studied law 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 ...
(receiving the title "magister" in about 1349) and was an accomplished
ecclesiastical lawyer Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. Canon law includes the ...
. He worked hard, spending ten weeks in 1357 levying the King's debts in the South-East. He was regarded by the English Crown as an expert on the
Exchequer of Ireland The Exchequer of Ireland was a body in the Kingdom of Ireland tasked with collecting The Crown, royal revenue. Modelled on the Exchequer, English Exchequer, it was created in 1210 after King John of England applied English law and legal structure ...
, and attended both the
English Privy Council The Privy Council of England, also known as His (or Her) Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council (), was a body of advisers to the sovereign of the Kingdom of England. Its members were often senior members of the House of Lords and the House of ...
and the
Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the Great Council of England, great council of Lords Spi ...
to offer his advice on the subject.Mackay, Ronan "Minot ((Minyot, Mynot, Mynyot), Thomas" ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'' Cambridge University Press He was probably responsible for the Ordinances of March 1361 reforming the Irish Exchequer. He received several clerical preferments including the
prebendaries A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir s ...
of
Mulhuddart Mulhuddart () is an outer suburb situated 12 km (7.456 miles) north-west of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The River Tolka passes near the village. Mulhuddart is also a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in the Barony (Irelan ...
,
Ossory Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of t ...
and Rathsallagh. He was
Lord Treasurer of Ireland The Lord High Treasurer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland, and chief financial officer of the Kingdom of Ireland. The designation ''High'' was added in 1695. After the Acts of Union 1800 created the United Kingdom of Great Brit ...
1362-1364, and a key ally of
Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, (; 29 November 133817 October 1368), was an English prince, Earl of Ulster ''jure uxoris'' from 1347, Duke of Clarence from 1362, Guardian of England in 1345–46, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1361–66, Kni ...
, the King's second son, as
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
. D'Alton, John, ''Memoirs of the Archbishops of Dublin'' Hodges and Smith Dublin 1838, p.138


Archbishop of Dublin

Minot was consecrated Archbishop of Dublin on
Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm bran ...
1363. Within two years of his taking up office, the long-running controversy as to whether the Archbishop of Dublin, like the other Irish bishops, must acknowledge the
Archbishop of Armagh The Archbishop of Armagh is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the Episcopal see, see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic success ...
as
Primate of Ireland The Primacy of Ireland belongs to the diocesan bishop of the Irish diocese with highest Order of precedence, precedence. The Archbishop of Armagh is titled Primate of All Ireland and the Archbishop of Dublin Primate of Ireland, signifying that t ...
, flared up again Minot and his adversary
Milo Sweetman Milo Sweetman (died 1380) was a fourteenth-century Irish Archbishop of Armagh, who was noted for his fierce defence of the privileges of his archdiocese. Biography Sweetman was treasurer of the Diocese of Ossory by 1360, and in that year he was ...
, Archbishop of Armagh from 1361 to 1380, maintained the quarrel with such heat that the King intervened personally, urging them to live in friendship and, more practically, suggesting that the matter could be resolved by allowing each Archbishop to carry his
crozier A crozier or crosier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholi ...
in the other's presence, as 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 ...
and the
Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...
did to get over a similar problem of precedence. Sweetman replied at length, insisting on the right of the See of Armagh to primacy, and also complaining that Minot had failed to attend a meeting which had been arranged to discuss the matter. His arguments apparently convinced the King, since in October 1365 Minot was summoned by the Duke of Clarence,
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
, to answer a charge of contempt of Parliament in failing to attend the meeting with Sweetman. No further action seems to have been taken, and the controversy lapsed for some decades, only to be revived in the 1420s. In 1366 Minot summoned a Provincial Council at
Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...
, to supplement the work of the
Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland () was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until the end of 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chambers: the Irish Hou ...
which in that session passed the celebrated
Statutes of Kilkenny The Statutes of Kilkenny were a series of thirty-five acts enacted by the Parliament of Ireland at Kilkenny in 1366, aiming to curb the decline of the Hiberno-Norman Lordship of Ireland. Background to the statutes By the middle decades of the ...
. The Council decreed that all priests should be ordained by English or Anglo-Irish bishops, should be politically reliable, should keep the peace among their congregations and should themselves refrain from any form of political agitation.


Building works

Minot was most usefully occupied with restoring St Patrick's Cathedral, which had been seriously damaged by fire in 1362. The works, which were completed in 1370, involved rebuilding the west
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
and the tower, which is still called Minot's Tower. It was said that the Archbishop was so pleased with the result that he had a new episcopal
seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...
designed depicting a bishop holding a
steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a relig ...
. To do the actual work he employed some sixty citizens of Dublin, who were described as "idle
vagabonds Vagrancy is the condition of wandering homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants usually live in poverty and support themselves by travelling while engaging in begging, scavenging, or petty theft. In Western countries, v ...
", and who despite their good work on the Cathedral were banished from Dublin by Minot's successor as Archbishop,
Robert Wikeford Robert Wikeford or de Wikeford (c.1320 – 29 August 1390) was an English-born diplomat, lawyer and judge, who became Lord Chancellor of Ireland and Archbishop of Dublin (Roman Catholic), Archbishop of Dublin. Early career He was born at Wic ...
, in 1376.


Last years

In 1372 through what was described as "obtuse bureaucratic mismanagement" on the part of the English Exchequer, he was fined for non-payment of debts he did not owe, but he subsequently received a
royal pardon In the English and British tradition, the royal prerogative of mercy is one of the historic royal prerogatives of the British monarch, by which they can grant pardons (informally known as a royal pardon) to convicted persons. The royal prerog ...
in the matter. In 1373 he was asked to advise Sir
William de Windsor Sir William de Windsor, Baron Windsor (–1384) was an English administrator who served as King's Lieutenant in Ireland. Origins William was the son of Sir Alexander de Windsor of Grayrigg, Westmorland, and of Elizabeth (died August 1349), ...
, the new
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
, on the imposition of
customs Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...
and other taxes. In the same year, he was summoned to attend a Great Council in Dublin. In 1375 he was summoned to attend another Council to consider the threat to
the Pale The Pale ( Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast s ...
from the O'Brien clan of
Thomond Thomond ( Classical Irish: ; Modern Irish: ), also known as the Kingdom of Limerick, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Clare and County Limerick, as well as parts of County Tipperary around Nena ...
. He died in July of the same year while on a visit to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. The Dean and Chapter of St Patrick's were given the requisite royal licence to elect a successor the following month.''Patent Roll 49 Edward III''


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minot, Thomas Archbishops of Dublin 14th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland 1375 deaths Year of birth unknown Barons of the Irish Exchequer 14th-century Irish judges