Walter of Winterburn (13th century – 26 August 1305) was an English Dominican,

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

, orator,

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 ...

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, and

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

. He entered the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

when a youth, and became renowned for learning, prudence, and sanctity of life. Edward I, King of England, chose him as his

confessor In a number of Christian traditions, including Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism, a confessor is a priest who hears the confessions of penitents and pronounces absolution. History During the Diocletianic Persecut ...

and spiritual director. He was provincial of his order in England from 1290 to 1298, and was created cardinal on 21 February 1304 by

Pope Benedict XI Pope Benedict XI (; 1240 – 7 July 1304), born Nicola Boccasini (Niccolò of Treviso), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 October 1303 to his death on 7 July 1304. Boccasini entered the Order of Preachers i ...

. In 1305, after having taken part in the election of

Clement V Pope Clement V (; – 20 April 1314), born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled ''de Guoth'' and ''de Goth''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his death, in April 1314. He is reme ...

, Walter set out from

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with several other cardinals to join the pope in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, but at

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

he was seized with his last illness, during which he was attended by the

dean of the Sacred College The dean of the College of Cardinals () presides over the College of Cardinals in the Catholic Church, serving as ('first among equals'). The position was established in the 12th century. He always holds the rank of a cardinal bishop and is as ...

, Nicholas de Prato. His remains were first buried in the church of his order at Genoa, but were later transferred 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 ...

, as he had ordered, and interred in the convent to which he had formerly been assigned.

Nicholas Trivet Nicholas Trivet (or Trevet, as he himself wrote) (c. 1258 – c. 1328) was an English Anglo-Norman chronicler. Life Trivet was born in Somerset and was the son of Sir Thomas Trevet (died 1283), a judge who came of a Norfolk or Somerset family. ...

, an English Anglo-Norman chronicler who was a close friend, wrote that Walter of Winterburn was a man endowed with many superior qualities, natural and supernatural. According to Trivet, he was thoroughly versed in knowledge, graced with rare modesty and a kindly disposition—a model of religious piety and of mature erudition who despite numerous duties in the cloister and at the imperial Court never shortened his hours of prayer. He left several works on philosophy and theology, chief among them: *''Commentarium in IV sententiarum libros'' *''Quaestiones theologicae'', much in use at that time *''Sermones ad clerum et coram rege habiti''

References

;Attribution {{authority control 1305 deaths English Dominicans 14th-century English cardinals English theologians Dominican cardinals 13th-century births English male poets 13th-century English poets 13th-century English philosophers 13th-century English clergy