Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 21 May 1328 / (Creation)
Level of description
File
Extent and medium
1 f. : parchment ; 350 x 340 mm. Flattened and placed within archival box at NLW.
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
Archival history
Endorsed in a contemporary hand: 'Confirmacio Henrici prioris super eleccione episopi meneuensis'. The document was probably retained by the Cathedral Priory of the Holy Trinity or Christ Church, Canterbury, and may have been lost following the upheaval of the dissolution of that Benedictine house in 1540. Its whereabouts between then and 2015 is unknown: an inscription on the verso, [in a late 18 cent. hand], mis-identifies the document as 'An Ecclesiastical Instrument. Licence of election for a Bishop of St Davids to the archdeacon of that Diocese 1328'. It was reputedly kept 'for centuries' at a country-house in Kent, by the descendants of a local antiquary.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Bonhams; London; Purchased at auction, lot 125; 18 March 2015
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Archiepiscopal confirmation in Latin, dated 21 May 1328, by Henry of Eastry (d. 1331), Prior of Christ Church, Canterbury (the monastic Cathedral Chapter), validating the election of Master Henry de Gower, Archdeacon of St David's, as Bishop of St David's. The document displays the sede vacante arrangements for the archdiocese of Canterbury, with the Prior of Canterbury acting at metropolitical level during the vacancy caused by the death of Archbishop Walter Reynolds on 16 November 1327. The document refers to the presence at Canterbury of de Gower and of the proctor (official representative) of the Precentor and Chapter of St David's. It notes the roles of the Prior of St Thomas's, Haverfordwest and Master David de Buelt [of Builth], canon of Bangor, in the election process, the latter acting as Canterbury's official overseeing matters in the Diocese of St David's during the vacancy. The witness list includes the names of Hugh de Forsham, William de Wynterton, John de Grone, Stephen Steest, John de Gloucestria, and Peter Duraunt, together with the scribe, Magister [?J.] Wymburn.
Following the death of the previous incumbent, Bishop David Martin, in March 1328, Henry de Gower (1277/9-1347) had been elected bishop of St David's by the Cathedral Chapter on 21 April. This document confirmed the validity of that election, and the suitability of the bishop-elect. Gower was duly consecrated at Canterbury on 12 June by Stephen Gravesend, Bishop of London, and the election was later confirmed by Pope John XXII in December 1328. The timing of de Gower's enthronement at St David's is unclear. See further 'Henry de Gower: bishop and builder', in Glanmor Williams, The Welsh and their Religion. Historical essays (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1991), pp. 93-116.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Conditions governing reproduction
Usual copyright laws apply.
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
Latin.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Digital version available http://hdl.handle.net/10107/4655566 (April 2016)
Digital version available https://www.library.wales/discover-learn/digital-exhibitions/manuscripts/the-middle-ages/confirmatio-of-henry-de-gower
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Title based on contents.
Note
Ink: dark brown, fading to a light brown in sections.
Note
Incipit: In dei nomine amen. Auditis et intellectis meritis negocii electionis dudum in ecclesia Cathedrali meneuensi Cantuariensis prouincie.
Note
Digitised at NLW, 5 April 2015.
Note
Preferred citation: NLW MS 24068F.
Alternative identifier(s)
Virtua system control number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Gower, Henry de, 1278?-1347. (Subject)
- Henry, of Eastry, -1331. (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Description follows NLW guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd ed.; AACR2; and LCSH
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
April 2015.
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Description compiled by Maredudd ap Huw (based on analysis by Dr Susan J. Davies);
Digital object metadata
Latitude
Longitude
Media type
Image
Mime-type
image/jpeg