William Lenn (also Lenne or de Lynn; died 1373) 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 ...

and

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 ...

. The name ''Lenn'' was the old name for Lynn in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

.Stephens ''Memorials'' pp. 117-118 Lenn went to Rome in his early life and became a doctor of canon law. He was subsequently made an ''auditor of causes'', in the holy court, by

Pope Urban V Pope Urban V (; 1310 – 19 December 1370), born Guillaume de Grimoard, was head of the Catholic Church from 28 September 1362 until his death, in December 1370 and was also a member of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was the only Avignon pope ...

.Coleman ''English Culture'' pp. 50-51 In 1356 Lenn was made dean of Chichester Cathedral, then after the death of Bishop Stratford he was selected for the see of Chichester on 16 May 1362, and was consecrated about 18 August 1362.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 239 Lenn's tenure at Chichester was quite short, but during that time he got into a quarrel with the

earl of Arundel Earl of Arundel is a title of nobility in England, and one of the oldest extant in the English peerage. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and it is used (along with the earldom of Surrey) by his heir apparent as a courtesy title ...

, Stephens suggests that it was probably a dispute over land. It seems that the bishop procured a citation from Pope Urban V ordering the earl to appear before a court, in Rome, to answer the charges laid against him. The earl treated the summons with contempt and refused to go. What the bishop was trying to do was seen as a violation of both the ''

Statute of Praemunire The Statute of Praemunire ( 16 Ric. 2. c. 5) was an act of the Parliament of England enacted in 1392, during the reign of Richard II. Its intention was to limit the powers of the papacy in England, by making it illegal to appeal an English cou ...

'' and the ''

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

'' of England. The King,

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 ...

, was angry at the insult and summoned the bishop to attend the king's court, to account for his actions. The bishop, however, was in Rome at the time, but he was convicted in his absence, and all his goods and chattels seized, by the crown. Lenn was translated to the see of Worcester on 11 October 1368 Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 279 He died of a stroke, in that office on 18 November 1373, as he mounted a horse to go to London to attend Parliament.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lenn, William 1373 deaths Bishops of Chichester Bishops of Worcester 14th-century English Roman Catholic bishops Deans of Chichester Year of birth unknown