Walter Reynolds (died 1327) was

Bishop of Worcester The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary (officer), head of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Worcester, Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title can be traced back to the foundation of the diocese in the ...

and then

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 ...

(1313–1327) as well as

Lord High Treasurer The Lord High Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in England, below the Lord H ...

and

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

Early career

Reynolds was the son of a baker from

Windsor, Berkshire Windsor is a historic town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch. The town is situated we ...

, and became a clerk, or chaplain, in the service of

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 ...

. Reynolds held several livings and, owing perhaps to his acting skill, he became a prime favourite with the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

, afterwards

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...

, whom he served as

Keeper of the Great Wardrobe The King's Wardrobe, together with the Chamber, made up the personal part of medieval English government known as the King's household. Originally the room where the king's clothes, armour, and treasure were stored, the term was expanded to des ...

. Just after the prince became king, on 22 August 1307 Reynolds, was appointed

Treasurer of England The Lord High Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in England, below the Lord Hig ...

. On 13 November 1307 Reynolds, who had the living of St Mary's Church, Wimbledon was elected Bishop of Worcester and consecrated on 13 October 1308. He was also on 6 July 1310 named Keeper of the Great Seal and

Lord Chancellor of England The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-r ...

. Amongst his duties as Bishop of Worcester was to act as the patron and appoint the headmaster of the school that later became the

Royal Grammar School Worcester The Royal Grammar School Worcester (also known as RGS Worcester and RGSW) is an 11-18 co-educational, private day school and sixth form in Worcester, Worcestershire, England. Founded before 1291, it is one of the oldest British independent day ...

. Reynolds was one of the godfathers of the future

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

when the prince was christened on 17 November 1312.

Episcopate

When Robert Winchelsea, Archbishop of Canterbury, died in May 1313 Edward II convinced Pope

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 ...

to appoint his favourite to the vacant archbishopric, and Reynolds was enthroned at

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...

in January 1314 as the 51st Archbishop. Although the private life of the new archbishop appears to have been the reverse of exemplary, he attempted to carry out some very necessary reforms in his new official capacity; he also continued the struggle for precedence, which had been carried on for many years between the archbishops of Canterbury and of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. In this connection in 1317 he laid

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 ...

under an interdict after William de Melton, the Archbishop of York, had passed through its streets with his cross borne erect before him. Reynolds remained in general loyal to Edward II until 1324, when with all his suffragans he opposed the king in defence of the

Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. Until 1534, the Diocese of Hereford was in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church and two of its bishop ...

Adam Orleton Adam Orleton (died 1345) was an English churchman and royal administrator. He was the Bishop of Winchester (1333–1345), Worcester (1327–1333) and Hereford (1317–1327) of the Catholic Church. Life Orleton was born into a Herefordshire f ...

. He then fought with Edward II over liturgical issues, and sent sums of money to Queen

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpo ...

in her rebellion against the King. Having fled for safety into

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

he returned to London and declared for Edward III, whom he crowned on 1 February 1327. He was appointed as a member of the

regency council In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

for Edward III that was formed in February 1327. In 1327 Reynolds popularised in England the political argument of ''

vox populi, vox Dei ''Vox Populi, Vox Dei'' is a Whig tract of 1709, titled after a Latin phrase meaning "the voice of the people is the voice of God" (Singular, as "Vox populi, vox deorum" would be Gods, plural.) It was expanded in 1710 and later reprintings as '' ...

'', contrary to

Alcuin Alcuin of York (; ; 735 – 19 May 804), also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin, was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student of Ecgbert of York, Archbishop Ecgbert at Yor ...

's original warning to Charlemagne to resist such arguments, as the title of his sermon laying charges against Edward II. Canterburycathedralwalterreynoldstomb

Reynolds died at

Mortlake Mortlake is a suburban district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes, London, Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes ...

on 16 November 1327.

Citations

References

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External links

List of Keepers from Office of Constitutional Affairs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, Walter Lord chancellors of England Archbishops of Canterbury Bishops of Worcester 14th-century English Roman Catholic archbishops Clergy from Windsor, Berkshire 13th-century births 1327 deaths Lord high treasurers of England Burials at Canterbury Cathedral Year of birth unknown