Peter of Aigueblanche

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Peter of Aigueblanche : biography

– 27 November 1268

Early life and appointment as bishop

Peter was a nobleman from Savoy who arrived in England in 1236 as a clerk of William of Savoy, the Bishop of Valence.Barrow William was escorting his niece, Eleanor of Provence, who married Henry III of England.Howell "" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Peter, who was descended from the family that held Aigueblanche in Savoy, was possibly William’s treasurer. Nothing further is known of his background or education, not even the name of his parents.Vincent "" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

By 1239 Peter was serving King Henry, as he had received a benefice in Lancashire. He also served as warden of the wardrobe and on 2 August 1240 the king named him archdeacon of Shropshire as well. But on 24 August 1240 he was elected bishop of Hereford, and was consecrated on 23 December 1240Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 250 at St. Paul’s in London. The ceremony was performed by the Archbishop of York, Walter de Gray. He was enthroned shortly after Christmas at Hereford.Barrow That fall, Henry had attempted to have him translated, or moved, to the richer bishopric of Durham, but was unable to secure the translation.

Death and legacy

Peter died on 27 November 1268. Although his will specified that he should be buried in Savoy, and a tomb at Aiguebelle was claimed as his, he was buried in Hereford Cathedral, and it appears likely that he died in England. His tomb and effigy still survive, and his body was exhumed in 1925.

While bishop, Peter founded a church in Savoy, at Aiguebelle, where he established the liturgy of the mass that was then in use in his bishopric, the Use of Hereford. This was unusual, because most churches in Italy or Savoy used the Roman Rite instead.Swanson Religion and Devotion pp. 95–96 His will gave most of his property to this church.

The medieval writer Matthew Paris said Peter had "fox-like cunning" and that his "memory exudes a sulphurous stench".Quoted in Vincent "" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

Unrest in England

Peter stayed on the continent, but in 1258 his lands in Hereford were once more attacked, and in the fall he was ordered to return to England in order to be audited for his attempts to collect the Sicilian tax. He did not immediately return, but by June 1259 had returned and was sent by the king to negotiate with the Welsh. When the king gained the upper hand in 1261 over the barons, Peter once more was sent out to collect the Sicilian tax. But baronial opposition to Henry’s policies continued, and Peter’s lands continued to be ravaged. He was even besieged in the city of Hereford for a time.

In May 1263, Gilbert de Clare, the Earl of Gloucester and the other lords on the Welsh Marches drove Peter from his see, in retaliation for King Henry’s refusal to observe the Provisions of Oxford. Peter’s lands in the diocese were plundered.Prestwich Plantagenet England p. 111 Simon de Montfort then arrested Peter, as part of his rise to power.Carpenter Struggle for Mastery p. 375 Peter was held, along with some of his subordinates, at Eardisley, but was released in September 1263. He then went with the king to Paris, where he was present at the judgement of King Louis IX of France condemning the baronial movement. Although he was promised the return of all his lands after the Battle of Evesham ended Montfort’s regime, not all of them were returned.

Sicily

Peter was once more overseas in 1253, and after the marriage negotiations, went to the papal court, which was in Naples with the new pope, Alexander IV. There Peter became embroiled in the attempt by King Henry to secure the kingdom of Sicily, which was granted to Henry by the papacy if Henry would drive Manfred of Sicily out of the kingdom and repay the money the papacy had already expended attempting to expel Manfred. This amount was estimated to be almost 135,000 marks of silver. Peter, in an attempt to raise that sum, used blank signed documents that the English clergy had given Peter to negotiate with the papacy as security for loans from Italian bankers. The intention of the clergy had not been to raise money for the king’s efforts in Sicily, and this led to Peter being universally condemned in England. Peter also pledged future tax revenues that had not yet been granted. Although attempts were made to collect the tax, they came to nothing and Peter was once more on the continent in November 1255.