Thomas Arundel
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A younger son of Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel, he held the title of Archbishop of York from 1388 before being moved to Canterbury in 1397. However, he was exiled by King Richard II of England, and his tenure was interrupted by that of Roger Walden. On the accession of Henry IV, Roger Walden, his successor in the primatial see, was declared a usurper, and Arundel restored, 21 October, 1399, Walden being translated to London.
Anti-Lollard
He is conspicuous as having taken an extremist stand against the Lollards whose new doctrine he, in company with the bishops of the province, petitioned Rome to condemn. Herein lie the roots of the Catholic and Protestant feud; Richard and Arundel sought to consolidate the power of the state and church over people's lives, without toleration of dissent. The Lollards, on the other hand, sought to nullify some of the church's more antiquarian perspectives, and as such were seen as reformist predecessors of Protestantism. Amongst other plights, they sought an end to the church's insistence on publishing all texts in Latin, which meant that the common man was unable to understand them. Contemporary literary figures such as Geoffrey Chaucer were behind this campaign, and many speculate that this may have been the cause of Chaucer's premature death. (See Terry Jones book ). Naturally, the Catholic church was anxious to preserve its position at the forefont of English society, and Arundel spearheaded the bloody backlash against the Lollards. As such, he was selected by the BBC History Magazine as the 15th century's worst Briton. [(BBC)], and in 2006, he was selected by the BBC History Magazine as the [9th worst Briton in the last 1000 years.]
Arundel was also vehement in his sturdy assertion of Transubstantiation and the prerogatives and divine institution of the Papacy. He was less popular with Henry's son and successor, Henry V.
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External link
- Latin transcription; Arundel's prohibition of Bible translation into vernacular languages.
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