IMC 2011: Sessions
Session 727: Non-Aristocratic Bishops
Tuesday 12 July 2011, 14.15-15.45
Sponsor: | Episcopus - Society for the Study of Episcopal Power & Culture in the Middle Ages |
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Organiser: | Jeff Hass, Department of History, Ave Maria University, Florida |
Moderator/Chair: | Robert Houghton, St Andrews Institute of Mediaeval Studies, University of St Andrews |
Paper 727-a | Fulbert of Chartres, 'Child of Poor Parents', and Clerical Careers (Language: English) Index terms: Ecclesiastical History, Politics and Diplomacy, Religious Life |
Paper 727-b | Bonizo of Sutri: A Popular Reformer on the Episcopal Throne (Language: English) Index terms: Ecclesiastical History, Politics and Diplomacy |
Paper 727-c | The Careers of William Melton, Clerk and Archbishop of York (Language: English) Index terms: Administration, Ecclesiastical History, Politics and Diplomacy |
Abstract | While the classic paradigm of the medieval bishop - a member of an aristocratic family who moved easily into his elite position as a prince of the Church - certainly has validity, there were also many who rose to their episcopacy from much more humble beginnings. This session will examine three such non-aristocratic bishops - Fulbert of Chartres, Bonizo of Sutri, and William Melton of York - and will focus on the ways in which such men could rise from relative obscurity to positions of prominence, as well as how their humble origins might have affected their conduct once they became public figures. |