Just three years before Richard was born, King Henry II had Thomas à Beckett killed as he knelt before the altar in Canterbury cathedral and the struggle between the Church and the State began a new phase. Henry III came to the throne when Richard was 23 years old. Henry III’s rule was marred by civil strife as the balance of power shifted this way and that between the Crown, the Barons and the Church.
Richard was the orphan of a well to do family and as soon as he was old enough he began to manage his elder brother’s estates. This would have been a good, steady way of life giving him a measure of security and prosperity for the rest of his life. But Richard responded to a vocation to give all that up to start an academic life for the Church. He went to Oxford and studied Church Law. He was very successful and was appointed Chancellor of the University in 1235. He became chancellor of the diocese of Canterbury under Archbishop Edmund Rich that same year. His rise to prominence inevitably brought him closer to the King’s attention.
Edmund Rich had threatened the King with excommunication if he refused to get rid of his objectionable advisers, in particular one Peter de Roches who had sided with Henry’s father, King John, against the Pope. The King gave in but Edmund Rich was sent into exile and Richard went with him. After Edmund’s death Richard came back to England to become Vicar of Deal and Chancellor of Canterbury for the second time.
This appointment was fraught with difficulties. Chichester diocese had been used as a source of income for Henry’s Chancellor, Ralph Neville. When this man needed a pay rise he was made Archbishop of Canterbury. The Pope refused to recognise this appointment on the grounds that Neville was not sufficiently learned in theology. The King then gave Chichester to another royal servant, Robert Passelewe, as his source of income. Passelewe also had the forest eyre, that is, the right to inspect (i.e. harass and steal from) the foresters of Hampshire which he used oppressively. His actual consecration as bishop was prevented by the Church because his activities were not seen to be consistent with the role of bishop. Richard had to follow on from these two when, in 1245, the Pope consecrated him as Bishop of Chichester knowing that this would annoy the king. Henry, angry that his own appointees had been turned down, refused to let Richard have the rents and other monies that went with the post.
Richard, homeless in his own diocese, was dependent on the charity of friends. Richard used his poverty to live a life of great austerity and even when the King was finally persuaded to allow him his income, Richard did not change his severe way of life. He gave most of his income away.
Richard began to reform the clergy of his diocese. They had fallen into complacent and sometimes immoral ways while they had not been properly supervised by a bishop. He compiled a book which set out how things were to be done and insisted that every priest had a copy and used it. This made Church services better organised and more dignified occasions of greater reverence. He was at the same time determined to protect his clergy from abuse. He made sure that any knight who harmed a priest was brought to punishment.
Richard died in Dover where he had been sent by the Pope to preach the Crusade. He was canonised in 1262, once again asserting the Church’s independence from the state. Despite the political shenanigans surrounding his life, Richard is best remembered as a saint for his deathbed prayer:
Thanks be to Thee, my Lord Jesus Christ
For all the benefits Thou hast given me,
For all the pains and insults Thou hast borne for me.
O most merciful Redeemer, friend and brother,
May I know thee more clearly,
Love Thee more dearly,
Follow Thee more nearly.
Author: C B Whittle