Walter
Jorz, Archbishop of Armagh
Niall
C.E.J. O’Brien
Early
references to Walter Jorz
Walter Jorz (also
written as Jorc or Joyce) was a member of the Dominican Order around the year
1300 and was a brother of Thomas Jorz, Prior Provincial of the Order in
England, 1297-1304.[1]
Walter was also a kinsman of Rowland Jorz, his successor as Archbishop of
Armagh. It is not known where the Jorz brothers came from.
In 1300 and 1301 Walter
Jorz was a member of the Oxford Convent. As the Dominican Order was dedicated
to study as a means of achieving salvation for the soul Walter’s attendance at
Oxford is not out of place.[2] On
12th October 1300 he was granted a licence by Bishop Dalderby to
hear confessions in the Diocese of Lincoln. This licence was renewed on 11th
October 1301.[3]
Archbishop
of Armagh
On 6th
August 1307 Walter Jorz was appointed Archbishop of Armagh by papal provision
after a protracted vacancy in the see. He was the third member of the Dominican
Order to be so appointed.[4] The
last Archbishop of Armagh was Nicholas Mac Maol Íosa (1270-1303). In August
1303 Michael McLaughlin was elected Archbishop but was never consecrated. In
1303 or 1304 Dionysius was appointed Archbishop but again was never
consecrated. He was followed by John Taaffe who was appointed in 1306 but died
before 6th August 1307 when Walter Jorz was appointed.[5]
Walter Jorz was in
France at the time of his appointment and was consecrated there, possibly at
Poitiers, by Nicholas, cardinal bishop of Ostia. The papal letter of appointed
provided for this and that Walter would receive the pallium from Landulph, cardinal of St. Angelo’s.[6]
Shortly after his arrival in England, Archbishop Walter Jorz received a fine
from King Edward II of £1,000. This was because the papal bull of appointment
contained words which the king considered prejudicial to the rights and dignity
of the crown. King Edward wanted to be the authority for appointing bishops
while he wanted the Pope to just recommend people for episcopal vacancies.[7]
Archbishop Walter Jorz made peace with the king, acknowledging that his papal
appointment contained no words prejudicial to the king and paid the £1,000 fine.
It was the payment of this fine which satisfied King Edward and allowed him to
accept Walter Jorz as archbishop and not because of any papal letters.
Armagh Cathedral
Or at least that is the
reasoning King Edward gave to the justiciar of Ireland when he ordered the
temporalities of Armagh to be restored to Archbishop Walter Jorz on 30th
September 1307.[8]
The escheator of Ireland, Walter de la Haye, accounted for £268 18 shillings 1¼
pence income from the temporalities between the 34th year of Edward
I and the first year of Edward II.[9]
With such a moderate income Archbishop Walter Jorz must have been overjoyed
with delight on 21st September to hear the news that King Edward
decided to return the £1,000.[10]
Archbishop Walter Jorz was able to pay the initial £1,000 because he had
receive papal approval to raise a loan of 4,000 florins to help pay his
expenses.[11]
Archbishop Walter in England
But the new archbishop
was in no hurry to go to Ireland. Instead on 18th October 1307
Archbishop Walter Jorz was granted protection for three years while he stayed
in England. To represent his interests in Ireland Archbishop Walter Jorz nominated
John de Bernak, parson of Toft, Co. Norfolk, and William de Burgo. As John de
Bernak was living in England he in turn had to nominate Simon de Bernak to
represent his interests in England while he stayed in Ireland. The letters of
legal protection for John de Bernak were for only two years.[12]
It would seem that
Archbishop Walter Jorz did not stay forever in England but came to Ireland at
least once and may be twice. While Archbishop Walter Jorz was in England, King
Edward II took advantage to appoint people to positions in the absent diocese. On
15th April 1308 Edward II granted to Master William de Birton,
king’s clerk, the archdeaconry of Armagh because it was in the king’s gift by
reason of the late voidance of the see. Archbishop Walter was directed to
secure the appointment.[13]
Archbishop Walter would be more of the opinion that such appointments were his
to make and not for the king to decide. Nicholas Mac Maol Íosa, Archbishop of
Armagh (1272-1303) had fought the crown for much of his episcopal over matters
of jurisdiction and rights. His English successors fought to retain those
rights.[14]
One group who were
losing their rights at that time were the Knights Templars. In August 1308
Archbishop Walter Jorz along with the Archbishops of Canterbury, York, Dublin,
Cashel and Tuam received a letter from the pope for the publication of the
papal bull ordering the Templars to restore their property to the original
benefactors.[15]
This papal bull was later changed to allow national governments to take control
of the Templar’s property in trust. Eventually the Templar property was given
to the Knights Hospitaller.
Archbishop
Walter visits Ireland
Sometime before June
1309 Archbishop Walter Jorz travelled to Ireland to see his archdiocese. On 11th
June 1309 Archbishop Walter nominated Thomas de Thorp and Walter de Shepwesse
to be his attorneys in England for the following two years.[16]
The archdiocese of
Armagh embraced two distinct areas of political control. Much of the
archdiocese lay within the Irish sphere of influence and was for much of the
medieval period off limits to various Archbishops of Armagh. The English sphere
of influence contained the counties of Louth and Meath. Most archbishops stayed
at Termonfeckin in County Louth and used St. Peter’s church in Drogheda as
their cathedral church. Tensions between the two races sometimes erupted into
the public gaze. In 1297 the Bishops of Armagh and Down were accused of
refusing to receive English clerics.[17]
View of Armagh in c.1601 from the Thomas Barthelet map
Llanthony
and St. Peter’s church at Drogheda
Archbishop Walter Jorz
did not support this separation between the Irish and the English. Indeed the
Dominican Order in Ireland was noted for its mixed convents.[18] By
September 1309 he was at the proper primatial cathedral at Armagh. While at
Armagh Archbishop Walter reduced the financial contribution of Llanthony Prima
towards the up keep of the vicar of St. Peter’s Church at Drogheda from thirty
marks of silver to fifteen marks. He also stated that the vicar should be
resident and have cure of the souls of the parishioners or find a suitable
priest or chaplain to do the job. Any extra burdens on the vicars were to be
paid directly by Llanthony.[19]
The
papal tenths
After his visit to
Ireland Archbishop Walter Jorz returned to England by March 1310. In the first
decade of the fourteenth century four papal bulls were issued relating to the
imposition and levying of the biennial and triennial tenths in England,
Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The Irish clergy refused pays these tenths before
they inspected the bulls. On 24th March 1310 Archbishop Walter Jorz
was at the Friars Preachers in London to place his seal on a public instrument
which contained a verbatim text of the four bulls. This document along with a
letter of instruction by the Bishops of Lincoln and London were sent to Ireland
in March 1311 by the hand of James de Spinis, merchant of the Society of the
Spini of Florence.[20]
Statute
of Kilkenny in 1310
By May 1310 Archbishop
Walter Jorz was back in Ireland. The Archbishop had a number of jobs to do
while in Ireland. The previously mention issue about non-payment of the tenths
was one issue but the actions of the Kilkenny Parliament in February 1310 was
just as important an issue. One of the acts passed by the Parliament was a
statute which made it unlawful for all religious houses and parishes within the
English sphere of influence to have any member save English members. The houses
within the English area were also forbidden to profess or receive any Irish
religious monks, canons or friars. Strong penalties were to be applied to any
who broke this statute.
The background to this
statute contained a number of violent incidents. At a general chapter of the
Franciscans in 1291 violence erupted between the English and Irish friars in
which about sixteen people were killed. About the same time Bishop Nicholas of
Kildare complained to King Edward I the some friars were in seditious
correspondence with Irish rulers.[21]
See more about Bishop Nicholas of Kildare in this article = http://celtic2realms-medievalnews.blogspot.ie/2013/10/nicholas-cusack-bishop-of-kildare-1279.html
This statute was
chiefly promoted by several bishops including the Archbishop of Cashel and the
Bishops of Ferns, Ossory, Leighlin and Emly who directed that anyone who broke
the statute would be excommunicated. When Archbishop Walter Jorz heard of this
statute he was shocked and strongly disapproved of this apartheid. Archbishop
Walter Jorz was in England at the time and used this location to speedily
approach King Edward II and got the statute annulled. On his return to Ireland
Archbishop Walter Jorz met John Wogan, Justiciar of Ireland to tell of the
king’s decision. On 22nd May John Wogan issued letters declaring
that the statute had been revoked.[22]
In 1317 some Irish
rulers considered that the failed statute of Kilkenny was an attempt merely to
legalise what had long been common practice. John Watt contends that government
policy around 1310 was still in favour of mixed communities.[23]
Yet from earliest times decrees enforcing discrimination and separation between
the English and the Irish were regularly made. In 1216 Henry III directed that
no Irishman was to be elected or promoted in any cathedral church as
disturbances would ensure.[24]
Llanthony
and the Bishop of Meath
On 27th May
Archbishop Walter Jorz was at Termonfeckin to agree a settlement between
Llanthony Secunda and the Bishop of Meath concerning a number of disputes
between them, chiefly that pertaining to the income of Duleek church. To help
the settlement Archbishop Walter agreed that Llanthony should be free from
appointing perpetual vicars to the churches of Duleek, Dowth and Ballycrobin.
Instead they could serve these churches with their fellow canons or employ
secular priests.[25]
The
election of a new Bishop of Elphin
While in Ireland Archbishop
Walter Jorz was involve in some ecclesiastical controversy. Following the death
of Donatus, bishop of Elphin, the canons there elected Malachy as bishop, but
Salomon, the dean, elected Charles; abbot of Loch Cé, and this was confirmed by
Master Reginald, the official in charge of administrating the diocese while
vacant. Subsequently Abbot Charles was consecrated bishop by Walter Jorz, Archbishop
of Armagh. After this, Malachy and the canons appealed to the pope, who annulled
the election and consecration of Abbot Charles. In July 1310 the pope further
confirmed the sentence of Thomas Jorz, cardinal of St. Sabina's (and brother of
Archbishop Walter), and ordered that Malachy be consecrated by Nicholas, Bishop
of Ostia and Velletri.[26]
It is not clear why
Archbishop Walter should prefer the choice of the cathedral dean over that of
the chapter. Was it racially motivated or did Archbishop Walter consider the
election of Malachy to be in some way flawed. Clearly his brother did not
approve of Walter’s actions.
Walter
resigns as Archbishop of Armagh
Since his appointment
as archbishop, Walter Jorz was harassed by lawsuits and the rapacity of royal
officials. On 8th July 1310 the king demanded 40 marks from Archbishop Walter in an action relating to the Bishop and chapter of Dromore. The priors of Louth and Dundalk had to come to the Exchequer court to acquit the archbishop of the amount. On 18th January 1311 Archbishop Walter had to provide two attorneys (Richard Manning and Walter Kynefare) in a plea at the Exchequer where the king had demanded £5 from Theobald de Verdon and the Archbishop was obliged by legal contracts to acquit Theobald of the demand. Even after Walter Jorz had resigned as archbishop the government still pressed his successor, Rowland Jorz, for a demand of 27 marks on the manors of Drommskin and Termonfeckin which the government alleged was due from Walter Jorz.[27]
This hostility against the archbishop increased significantly after the statute of Kilkenny was
revoked. The Bishop of Ossory was the lead campaigner for division between the
races and was most upset at what happen. The bishop soon began a campaign of
hostility against the archbishop. In August 1310 Archbishop Walter Jorz had
plans to visit Avignon, France (seat of the popes between 1309 and 1377) to
help solve his problems and received legal protection for one year. Archbishop
Walter nominated Thomas de Thorp and William de Burgh as his attorneys for
England and Ireland during that time.[28]
After his arrival in
Avignon, Archbishop Walter Jorz found no comfort. Instead the weight of office
continued to burden him. By November 1311 Archbishop Walter had had enough and
got leave to resign the see. In return he was promised a yearly pension of £50.[29]
Walter
Jorz as the ex-Archbishop of Armagh
On 26th
March 1318 Walter Jorz, ex-Archbishop of Armagh, made his way to Durham as one
of the suffragan bishops in the Archdiocese of York to officiate at the
consecration of Lewis de Beaumont as Bishop of Durham. Walter was assisted by
two other bishops called David Recerensis
and Peter Corbaviensis and two papal
legates; Cardinals Gaucelin de Eauze and Luke Fieschi.[30]
Lewis de Beaumont was
extravagant and illiterate but had important connections. His sister was
Isabella de Vesci, a wealthy widow and powerful friend of Queen Isabella, wife
of King Edward II.[31]
Lewis de Beaumont’s brother was Henry de Beaumont, 4th Earl of
Buchan, a person of considerable military and political skill. Henry de
Beaumont fought for England in nearly every battle between England and Scotland
from 1298 to 1333. It was his battle techniques that were later developed to
great effect at Crecy and Agincourt.[32]
The consecration
ceremony attended by Walter Jorz was the second attempt at the consecration of
de Beaumont. The first ceremony was planned for sometime in late 1317 but
“certain wicked persons” attacked the two papal legates and took them prisoner
along with de Beaumont.[33]
The “certain wicked
persons” were a Scottish raiding party led by Sir Gilbert Middleton. After the
English defeat at Bannockburn in 1314 the north of England was wide open for
Scottish invasion and was ravaged by numerous raiding parties. Sir Gilbert’s
castle at Milford on the Wansbeck was said to a centre of highway robbery.[34]
The capture of de
Beaumont and the two cardinals had political motives above simple robbery. With
Lewis de Beaumont as Bishop of Durham his brother Henry de Beaumont would have
a strong base from where he could launch attacks into Scotland. The Scots
wished to prevent such a strong hand. The two cardinals were sent to England by
Pope John XXII to make peace between England and Scotland and to make peace
within England between the king and the barons.[35]
After his association
with such a high profile consecration, Walter Jorz, ex-Archbishop of Armagh,
was sent off in June 1318 to perform more low status activities. The church of
Selston in Nottinghamshire had been polluted with bloodshed. Walter Jorz was sent
to reconcile Selston church and make it spiritually clean for renewed religious
service.[36]
By September 1319
Walter Jorz was a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Lincoln.[37] In February 1321 Walter
Jorz died at the Lincoln convent of the Dominicans. He requested burial within
the convent church. Walter’s last illness must have come suddenly to a climax.
On 2nd February 1321 Walter made his will and on 7th
February it was proved – which points to the Walter’s death between those
dates.[38]
===============
End of post
===============
[1]
A.B. Emden (ed.), A biographical register
of the University of Oxford to A.D. 1500 (Oxford University Press, 1989),
vol. 2, p. 1023
[2]
Daphne D.C. Pochin-Mould, The Irish
Dominicans (Dominican Publications, Dublin, 1957), p. 25
[3]
A.B. Emden (ed.), A biographical register
of the University of Oxford to A.D. 1500, vol. 2, p. 1023
[4]
Daphne D.C. Pochin-Mould, The Irish
Dominicans, p. 25
[6]
W.H. Bliss (ed.), Calendar of the Papal Registers
relating to Great Britain and Ireland (H.M.S.O., 1895), Vol. 2 (1305-1342),
p. 26
[7]
A.B. Emden (ed.), A biographical register
of the University of Oxford to A.D. 1500, vol. 2, p. 1023
[8] Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Edward II,
1307-1313, p. 4
[9] Thirty-ninth report of the Deputy Keeper of
Ireland (1907), p. 23
[10] Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Edward II,
1307-1313, p. 10
[11]
W.H. Bliss (ed.), Calendar of the Papal Registers
relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 2 (1305-1342), p. 29
[12] Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Edward II,
1307-1313, p. 9
[13] Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Edward II,
1307-1313, p. 64
[14]
A.J. Otway-Ruthven, A history of Medieval
Ireland (Ernest Benn, London, 1980), p. 130
[15]
W. Bliss (ed.), Calendar of the Papal Registers
relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 2 (1305-1342), p. 48
[16] Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Edward II,
1307-1313, p. 121
[17]
Edmund Curtis, A history of Medieval
Ireland from 1086 to 1513 (Barnes & Noble, New York, 1968), p. 180
[18]
John Watt, The Church in Medieval Ireland
(Gill & Macmillan, Dublin, 1972), pp. 64, 65
[19]
Arlene Hogan, The Priory of Llanthony
Prima and Secunda in Ireland, 1172-1541: Land, patronage and politics (Four
Courts Press, Dublin, 2008), pp. 335, 336
[20]
Philomena Connolly (ed.), ‘List of entries on the Memoranda Rolls of the
English Exchequer, 1307-1327’, in Analecta
Hibernica, no. 36 (1995), p. 179
[21]
A.J. Otway-Ruthven, A history of medieval
Ireland, p. 138
[22]
J.A. Watt, The church and two nations in
Medieval Ireland (Cambridge University, 1970), p. 183
[23]
John Watt, The Church in Medieval Ireland,
p. 79
[24] H.S.
Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents
relating to Ireland (Kraus reprint, 1974), Vol. 1 (1171-1252), nos. 736,
739
[25]
Arlene Hogan, The Priory of Llanthony
Prima and Secunda in Ireland, pp. 338, 339, 340
[26]
W. Bliss (ed.), Calendar of the Papal Registers
relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 2 (1305-1342), p. 70
[27]
A.B. Emden (ed.), A biographical register
of the University of Oxford to A.D. 1500, vol. 2, p. 1024; chancery.tcd.ie/document/Close/4-edward-ii/2; chancery.tcd.ie/document/Close/4-edward-ii/11; chancery.tcd.ie/document/Close/6-edward-ii/14
[28] Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Edward II,
1307-1313, pp. 273, 274
[29]
A.B. Emden (ed.), A biographical register
of the University of Oxford to A.D. 1500, vol. 2, p. 1024
[30]
Rosalind M.T. Hill (ed.), The Register of
William Melton, Archbishop of York, 1317-1340, vol. 1 (Canterbury &
York Society, vol. LXX, 1975-76), no. 192
[33]
Rosalind M.T. Hill (ed.), The Register of
William Melton, Archbishop of York, 1317-1340, vol. 1, no. 197
[34]
May McKisack, The Fourteenth Century
1307-1399 (Oxford University Press, 1997), pp. 40, 41
[35]
May McKisack, The Fourteenth Century
1307-1399, p. 52
[36]
Rosalind M.T. Hill (ed.), The Register of
William Melton, Archbishop of York, 1317-1340, vol. 1, no. 194
[37]
A.B. Emden (ed.), A biographical register
of the University of Oxford to A.D. 1500, vol. 2, p. 1024
[38]
A.B. Emden (ed.), A biographical register
of the University of Oxford to A.D. 1500, vol. 2, p. 1024
