Thomas Rotherham
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| Thomas Rotherham | ||
| Archbishop of York | ||
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| Portrait of Thomas Rotherham from "Historic Notices of Rotherham", by John Guest,1879 | ||
| Enthroned | {{{began}}} | |
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| Ended | May 29, 1500 | |
| Predecessor | Lawrence Booth | |
| Successor | Thomas Savage | |
| Consecration | translated July 7, 1480 | |
| Birth name | Thomas Rotherham | |
| Born | August 24, 1423 Rotherham, South Yorkshire |
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| Died | May 29, 1500 Cawood Palace |
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| Buried | York Minster | |
Thomas Rotherham, also known as Thomas (Scot) de Rotherham (August 24, 1423 – May 29, 1500), was an English cleric and statesman.
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[edit] Life
Born in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, Thomas was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Rotherham, of Brookgate in Rotherham, and his wife, Alice Scot. He was first educated as a young boy by a teacher of grammar, who came, according to Thomas, "I know not by what fate save it was the Grace of God". Afterwards he was sent to the newly founded Eton College in order to prepare for university entrance.
He attended King's College, Cambridge, becoming a Bachelor of Divinity and a Fellow of Kings, and lectured on Grammar, Theology and Philosophy. After his ordination as a priest he served in many powerful positions in the Church, becoming Prebendary of Lincoln in 1462 and of Salisbury in 1465. He was appointed Bishop of Rochester in 1468,[1] Bishop of Lincoln in 1472,[2] and then Archbishop of York from 1480 to 1500.[3]
King Edward IV appointed him Keeper of the Privy Seal in 1467.[4] In 1468 he became ambassador to France and joint ambassador to Burgundy in 1471. He was Lord Chancellor of England twice, from 1474 to 1483 and again briefly in 1485.[5] Rotherham was one of the celebrants of the funeral mass for Edward IV on April 20, 1483.[6]
After Edward's death, there followed a struggle for the throne. Edward V was deposed and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, became Richard III. Thomas Rotherham was imprisoned in the Tower of London for his loyalty to Elizabeth Woodville, Edward's Queen.[7] He had released the Great Seal to her when she went into sanctuary at Westminster, but having rethought the idea, he recovered it from the dowager queen. Eventually the Seal ended up in the hands of Thomas Bourchier.[8] The imprisonment lasted from June 13, 1483 to the middle of July.[9] Under Henry VII he was deprived of the Chancellorship. After this he retired from most public work. He died of the plague at Cawood, (near York) on May 29, 1500.[3] His remains were transferred to a magnificent marble tomb in York Minster in 1506.
[edit] Endowments
Thomas Rotherham built part of Lincoln College, Oxford University and increased its endowment;[10] at Cambridge, where he was four times Chancellor and Master of Pembroke Hall, he helped to build the University Library.
In 1480 he endowed a Chapel of Jesus within Rotherham parish church, with a priest to sing masses for the souls of his ancestors. He founded The College of Jesus in Rotherham as a memorial to his first teacher.[10] The foundations of the red brick College were laid at his birthplace in Brookgate in March 1482 and a licence was granted on 22 January 1483 "for the honour and glory of the name of Jesus Christ to found a perpetual College".
The statutes of the College were dated 1 February 1483. The College of Jesus was to consist of a Provost and three Fellows, all to be in Holy Orders, who must attend church on Sundays and Holy Days. The Fellows were to teach grammar and train the six choristers of Jesus in song and music. They were also to teach promising boys who did not aspire to the priesthood, reading, writing and reckoning, free of charge. If the boys continued to show merit they could learn the rudiments of grammar and music. The college was later dissolved around 1550 by Edward VI and all its possessions seized by the crown. Very little now remains of the original building, although the street is still known as College Street.
He is still remembered in the name of Thomas Rotherham College, which is the post-1967 descendant of Rotherham Grammar School for Boys, which had its origins in the original College of Jesus.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Fryde Handbook of British Chronology p. 268
- ^ Fryde Handbook of British Chronology p. 256
- ^ a b Fryde Handbook of British Chronology p. 282
- ^ Fryde Handbook of British Chronology p. 95-96
- ^ Fryde Handbook of British Chronology p. 88
- ^ Ross Edward IV p. 417
- ^ Ross Richard III p. 42
- ^ Ross Richard III p. 76
- ^ Davies "The Church and the Wars of the Roses" in The Wars of the Roses p. 142
- ^ a b Ross Edward IV p. 268
[edit] References
- Bennett, H. Leigh "Archbishop Rotherham (known as Thomas Scot, Archbishop of York, 1423-1500) Lord High Chancellor of England and of Cambridge University" 1901
- Davies, Richard G. "The Church and the Wars of the Roses" in The Wars of the Roses ed. by A. J. Pollard New York: St. Martin's Press 1995 ISBN 0-312-12697-2
- Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology, Third Edition, revised, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
- Guest, John "Historic Notices of Rotherham" 1879
- Ross, Charles Edward IV Berkeley: University of California Press 1974 ISBN 0-520-02781-7
- Ross, Charles Richard III Berkeley: University of California Press 1981 ISBN 0-520-04589-0
[edit] External links
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Robert Stillington |
Lord Privy Seal 1467–1470 |
Succeeded by John Hales |
| Preceded by John Hales |
Lord Privy Seal 1471–1474 |
Succeeded by John Russell |
| Preceded by John Alcock |
Lord Chancellor 1475–1483 |
Succeeded by John Russell |
| Preceded by John Russell |
Lord Chancellor 1485 |
Succeeded by John Alcock |
| Roman Catholic Church titles | ||
| Preceded by John Low |
Bishop of Rochester 1468–1472 |
Succeeded by John Alcock |
| Preceded by John Chadworth |
Bishop of Lincoln 1472–1480 |
Succeeded by John Russell |
| Preceded by Lawrence Booth |
Archbishop of York 1480–1500 |
Succeeded by Thomas Savage |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Rotherham, Thomas |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Scot, Thomas |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Lord Privy Seal; Lord Chancellor; Bishop of Rochester; Bishop of Lincoln; Archbishop of York |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 24, 1423 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rotherham, South Yorkshire |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 29, 1500 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Cawood Palace |
