Friday, 20 June 2014

John of Salisbury's Troubles Leading To His Exile

John of Salisbury was perhaps in Europe the foremost political philosopher and intellectual of his times. He was employed in the papal curia until about end of 1153, and early 1154 entered service with Archbishop Theobald. He had a rival in Arnulf, bishop of Lisieux. Both loathed each other. John had accused Arnulf that he had used the second crusade, who had been appointed papal legate for the Normans and English armies, for his own personal profit and gain, and blamed him for its mismanagement.  In 1156 Arnulf had persuaded Henry king of England not to invade Ireland by advising him, that the lordship of the Ireland granted by Pope Adrian IV to Henry which had been obtained by John of Salisbury seemed to acknowledge the pope's supremacy over all islands of Britain, something which Henry could not sanction: the Holy See claimed, under the Donation of Constantine, that every Christian island was the property of the Papacy thus any Papal Bull issued to the English crown authorising the invasion of Ireland would automatically grant the Pope authority over the whole of the British Isles. Henry reluctantly had to agree with Arnulf and decided not to act on the papal permission that he had been given, but John of Salisbury thereafter never forgave Arnulf for placing royal interest ahead and above that of the papal prerogative. Arnulf was a moderate, a political climber but seeking compromise where ever possible. John of Salisbury was more of an idealist, basing his judgement on the canons of the Church. John was highly critical of the mission that had been sent by Henry to Pope Adrian IV for they had used considerably amounts of bribes with the members of the Papal Curia to obtain what they wanted

 John angered King Henry on several occasions. Arnulf, bishop of Lisieux, advised Henry to have him removed from court (See Giles JoS Epistola 121). During his visit to Rome as archbishop Theobald's representative in 1156. Upon his return Arnulf advised king Henry that John had been far too solicitous in the Church's cause, to the detriment of the king's own rights. John fell from the royal favour of Henry II when he held to a position which differed from the King's in regard to secular and ecclesiastical jurisdiction.  And John was subsequently denounced of lèse-majesté, especially concerning when elections were to be held for the higher vacant positions in the Church in England or when ecclesiastical cases were to be examined and judged, and he was accused of promoting the Church's own rights of liberty in these matters to the archbishop of Canterbury. Because of this he was forced for a while into a kind of semi-retirement at Rheims in disgrace, exiled from the court of Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury at the command of Henry II, where he completes his work, The Policraticus. Indeed John of Salisbury even maintained in this work that the kings of England frequently abused the laws of lèse-majesté to rid themselves of awkward criticism. And indeed it was John's position that one owed a greater fealty to God, and to His hierarchy [Pope and Church] rather than to any earthly king.

A novel and heavy tax [scutage and extras] was introduced in 1156 and again 1159 by king Henry II the latter to meet the costs of and funding for the Toulouse campaign against the king of France, (See JoS Epistola 145. p. 223). The tax in 1159 is often known as the Great Scutage of Toulouse, and it has fallen arbitrarily and with a particularly heavy severity upon the Church (see J. H. Round in the Engl. Hist. Rev. vi. pp. 635-, 1891). John  vehemently denounced this tax (See JoS Epistola 113 p.162 and as a consequence he was to fall even further out of favour with the king, and was accused of urging the Church to assert its privileges and rights over those of the king's rights. John wrote about this in his letters to Peter of La Celle (See JoS Epistola. 115.p. 164 f and Epistola 96. p. 142),

It is ironical that Becket, during his time as the king's chancellor, had become the trusted friend of king Henry, and it seems that he was one of the principal organisers of the expedition to besiege Toulouse in 1159, and it was possibly he who was personally responsible or involved  in the levying of the heavy taxes imposed on the Church. Perhaps Becket was later to feel guilty about what he had done.

Upon Becket's accession as archbishop of Canterbury, John becomes a clerk at Canterbury, where he remained till his exile in 1163. John must have had a very significant and great influence upon Becket for he was eventually to adopt and makes his life's cause the rights and freedom of the Church over those of the king, ideas which were current in the Church, but being heavily promoted by John of Salisbury.  However there is no documentary evidence of how this influence evolved other than nearly all of John's books were dedicated to Becket.  During his time as Becket's clerk, Becket asked John to compose a biography [hagiography] of archbishop Anselm which Becket was to give to pope Alexander III at the Council of Tours and which he wanted to use in his campaign to have Anselm canonised as a saint. Anselm himself had been a strong campaigner for the freedom of the Church over the rights of kings. The pope subsequently authorised Becket to assemble a council of the bishops in England to review Anselm's case for sainthood.

John eventually left England and went into permanent exile in France late in 1163 or early in 1164 after further disagreements with the king about the liberties of the Church. He was strong supporter of the position that Becket had taken at the Council of Westminster in October 1163 and had championed his cause. Indeed it was possibly he who encouraged Becket to go into exile himself. It was he who helped to make preparations with the king of France to receive Becket after Becket's own flight from England following his trial at the Council of Northampton later, in November 1164. He was not to return until November 1170, just before Becket's own return.

References
David Luscombe, ‘Salisbury, John of (late 1110s–1180)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2011 http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/14849

John of Salisbury (DNB00) - Wikisource

John of Salisbury (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

The Avalon Project - The Bull of Pope Adrian IV Empowering Henry II to Conquer Ireland. A.D. 1155

The Bull Laudabiliter
Kate Norgate
The English Historical Review
Vol. 8, No. 29 (Jan., 1893), pp. 18-52
http://www.jstor.org/stable/548313
https://archive.org/stream/englishhistoric04edwagoog#page/n24/mode/1up

Nicholas Breakspear (Adrian IV.) Englishman and Pope A.H. Tarleton,

John of Salisbury The Metalogicon of John of Salisbury: A Twelfth-century Defense of the Verbal and Logical Arts of the Trivium. Paul Dry Books. pp. 274–. ISBN 978-1-58988-058-0.



C. P. Schriber, ‘Arnulf , bishop of Lisieux’, rev. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2008
http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/37127
John (of Salisbury, Bishop of Chartres); John Allen Giles (1848). Joannis Saresberiensis opera omnia. Nunc primum in unum collegit et cum codicibus manuscriptis: Epistolae. Volume 1. Epistola CXXI: J. H. Parker. pp. 169–.
John to Pope Adrian IV
Letter 91 page 75
Translation: Cullinane, Mary Patricius, "Translations of Letters Sixty-One to One-Hundred Six of John of Salisbury" (1943). Master's Theses. Paper 478.
Summary: John tells Pope Adrian IV that Bishop Arnulf of Lisieux was the author of the accusations that had brought down upon his head the wrath of King Henry.
For further letters on John's trouble see also letters 94, 96, 101, 103, 104, 105, 106, 113, 127.
Translations: Rooney, Clare, "An Annotated Translation of the Letters of John of Salisbury: Letters 107-135" (1943). Master's Theses. Paper 344.

John (of Salisbury, Bishop of Chartres); John Allen Giles (1848). Joannis Saresberiensis opera omnia. Nunc primum in unum collegit et cum codicibus manuscriptis: Epistolae. Volume 1 Epistola 96: J. H. Parker. pp. 141–.
Translation: Letter 127 - John to Abbot Peter of Celle p. 67
Summary: Acknowledges receipt of Peter's letter at Eastertide. and explains why he had not come to Troyes as he had promised. Friends had advised him not to flee from England in the midst of his troubles. and he was awaiting the king' s return. He asks Peter for some books, and suggests that he may visit him before the end of autumn. R. L. Poole places this letter in the Summer of 1160.  He deduces this date from John's mention of the queen's return from France.

John (of Salisbury, Bishop of Chartres); John Allen Giles (1848). Joannis Saresberiensis opera omnia. Nunc primum in unum collegit et cum codicibus manuscriptis: Epistolae. Volume 1. Epistola 113: J. H. Parker. pp. 161–.
Translation: Letter 104 - John to Archdeacon Thomas Becket
Cullinane, Mary Patricius (1943) , "Translations of Letters Sixty-One to One-Hundred Six of John of Salisbury" Master's Theses. Paper 478.
Summary: John begs for Becket's intercession with the king, sends him the Pope's letter of petition and assures him of Theobald's favour. He also mentions that archbishop Theobald has stopped Becket receiving the "seconda auxilia" from his Becket's churches. This letter was written at the end of 1159.

John (of Salisbury, Bishop of Chartres); John Allen Giles (1848). Joannis Saresberiensis opera omnia. Nunc primum in unum collegit et cum codicibus manuscriptis: Epistolae. Volume 1. Epistola 115: J. H. Parker. pp. 164–.
Translation: Letter 101 - John to Abbot Peter of Celle
Cullinane, Mary Patricius (1943) , "Translations of Letters Sixty-One to One-Hundred Six of John of Salisbury" Master's Theses. Paper 478.
Summary: John writes that malevolent informers [bishop Arnulf of Lisieux] have kindled the king 's wrath against him, and lists the charges that have been made. He fears that exile is near and has determined to quit England at the end of the year. This letter was written near the end of 1159. Peter of Celle was in constant touch with John during this trouble. Indeed, it may have been he who first warned John of the impending trouble.

 John (of Salisbury, Bishop of Chartres); John Allen Giles (1848). Joannis Saresberiensis opera omnia. Nunc primum in unum collegit et cum codicibus manuscriptis: Epistolae. Volume I. Epistola CXXI [Letter 121]: J. H. Parker. pp. 169–.

 In this letter John of Salisbury to Pope Alexander III describes bishop Arnulf of Lisieux as "episcopus Lexoviensis malleus iniquitatis est ad conterendam Ecclesiam Dei"  = "The bishop of Lisieux is the hammer of iniquity destroying the Church of God."

The Letters Of Arnulf Of Lisieux Introduction

John (of Salisbury, Bishop of Chartres); John Allen Giles (1848). Joannis Saresberiensis opera omnia. Nunc primum in unum collegit et cum codicibus manuscriptis: Epistolae. Volume 1. Epistola 145: J. H. Parker. pp. 221–.
Translation: Letter 174 - John to Bishop Bartholomew of Exeter

The Alleged Disgrace of John of Salisbury in 1159
Giles Constable
The English Historical Review
Vol. 69, No. 270 (Jan., 1954), pp. 67-76

Carolyn Poling Schriber (1990). The dilemma of Arnulf of Lisieux: new ideas versus old ideals. Indiana University Press. p. xviii. ISBN 978-0-253-35097-8.

Arnulf (of Lisieux) (1939). The letters of Arnulf of Lisieux. Offices of the Royal Historical Society.

 Peter of Celle, Letters of Peter of Celle, ed. and trs. J. P. Haseldine, Oxford Medieval Texts (Oxford, 2001)


Giles JoS 134
Materials for the Life of Thomas Becket Volume 5: Epistola 55
Correspondence of Thomas Becket Vol 1: 24

Giles JoS 145 
Materials for the Life of Thomas Becket Volume 5: Epistola 194
Monumenta:  Ioannes Saresberiensis, Epistulae, 145  http://goo.gl/0WtdBp

JOHN OF SALISBURY
Sister M. Anthony Brown
Franciscan Studies
Vol. 19, No. 3/4 (SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER 1959), pp. 241-297
Article Stable URL:http://www.jstor.org/stable/41974691

Christopher Harper-Bill; Nicholas Vincent (2007). Henry II: New Interpretations. Boydell Press. pp. 157–. ISBN 978-1-84383-340-6. 

 (PL 199 0099D)

W. J. Millor (1986) - Editor, H. E. Butler. The Letters of John of Salisbury. Volume: 1.  Clarendon Press, Oxford. p. 31
Letter 19 John to Peter, abbot of Celle
[Autumn of 1156]
...
After I returned from the Church of Rome, Fortune piled on me such a load of bitter troubles, that I think I have never before endured anything to call trouble
...
The indignation of our most serene lord, our all-powerful king, our most unconquerable prince, has grown hot against me in full force. If you ask the reason, perhaps I favoured him more than was just, and worked for his advancement with greater vigour than I should; for I sighed for this with all my heart's longing, namely that I might behold him whom I deemed to be kept in exile by the malice of Fortune, reigning by God's mercy on the throne of his fathers, and giving laws to peoples and nations. It was for this perhaps that God has resolved to punish the impatience of my desire. For whatever is sought with impatience brings us the stab of pain, whether the object of our desire retreats or approaches.This is not the fault of which I am accused, but innocent as I am, I am charged with a crime far beyond my power to commit and one which might excuse one so insignificant as myself by its very magnitude. I alone in all the realm am accused of diminishing the royal dignity. When they define the act of offence more carefully, these are the charges that they hurl upon my head. If anyone among us invokes the name of Rome, they say it is my doing. If the English Church ventures to claim even the shadow of liberty in making elections or in the trial of ecclesiastical causes, it is imputed to me, as if I were the only person to instruct the lord archbishop of Canterbury and the other bishops what they ought to do. On these counts my position is shaken to its foundations,and they are so pressing that it is thought that I am in danger of banishment. If necessary, I shall endure this fate for the sake of justice, not only with equanimity but with joy. I think that I shall leave England before the first of January, and after consulting you, I shall either stay in France or proceed to the Church of Rome.
...

See also
Cullinane, Mary Patricius, (1943) "Translations of Letters Sixty-One to One-Hundred Six of John of Salisbury".
Letter 101. John to Abbot Peter of Celle


The Alleged Disgrace of John of Salisbury in 1159
Giles ConstableThe English Historical ReviewVol. 69, No. 270 (Jan., 1954), pp. 67-76Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/556294

John (of Salisbury, Bishop of Chartres); W.J.Millor; H.E.Butler (1955). Revised by Christopher Nugent Lawrence Brooke, ed. The Letters of John of Salisbury: The early letters, 1153-1161. Volume One. Appendix II The Great Disgrace: T. Nelson. pp. 257–8.

Ibid. Letters 27 and 28 in same volume to Thomas Becket chancellor.


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