A HISTORY OF DURHAM 



and such considerations as the unrest and turbulence occasioned by the 

 Scottish invasions, whilst on the other hand the clergy at all events frequently 

 received a licentia studendi at the university.'^" Instances of murder or riot or 

 wreckage, which appear from time to time on the rolls, do not prove much 

 as to general tendencies. 



Of the two bishops who fill the interval between the episcopates of 

 Hatfield and Cardinal Langley, Fordham (1382-8), is of little importance. 

 His was a political appointment,'" and as he was deeply involved in the 

 troubles of Richard II he shared the king's unpopularity, being forced to 

 resign his see and retire to Ely. He cannot be proved to have left any 

 permanent stamp on the church in his diocese,"^ and his reputed opposition 

 to Wycliffism was probably exercised in London rather than in the north. '°* 

 There is certainly no evidence of Wycliffism in Durham during the fourteenth 

 century. As a political force Fordham was more noteworthy, and gained 

 from the king an important confirmation of palatine jurisdiction as the result 

 of a commission issued for the purpose. In 1386 a commission of array 

 was issued in the bishopric to resist the French invasion that was feared, and 

 in 1388 there was another Scottish invasion. 



Skirlaw (1388— 1405) was a great builder. He began the cloisters at 

 Durham, and erected bridges at Yarm and Shincliffe. Personally he was one 

 of the most attractive of the mediaeval prelates of Durham. His election at 

 the very height of the Wycliffe controversy goes to show that he was of 

 proved orthodoxy. He had been employed in various foreign missions, and 

 once at Rome. As bishop he was used in the Scottish marriage negotiations 

 of 1394. He was steadfast to the new dynasty in 1399. The absence of 

 his register, and the meagreness of other records which have rapidly lessened 

 since the days of Hatfield, leave us in complete ignorance of his personal 

 influence in the diocese. His rolls are all occupied with ordinary business 

 matters, and give no insight into the condition of the church. 



Political considerations had some weight in the choice of the next 

 bishop, Thomas Langley (1406-37). His previous connexion with the 

 Lancastrian family was expected to ensure his steadfast allegiance to that 

 house, a matter of no small importance considering the recent Scottish wars, 

 and the probable contingency of some alliance between France and Scotland. 

 Soon after his election he resigned his chancellorship,'" and apparently began 

 to devote himself to his diocese, from which he was summoned in 1409 to 

 be present at the Council of Pisa. From the close of that year he was active, 

 as his register shows, until called away on an embassy to Paris in 141 4. His 

 reappointment as chancellor in 141 7 drew him into the stream of politics 

 again, and for some years he was rarely in the diocese. The bishop of Elphin 

 was appointed to act as his suffragan in 1420. Langley had a large part in 

 drawing up the Treaty of Durham in 1424, and entertained the Scottish 

 James I at Durham. The remainder of his episcopate was, so far as we can 



"" The custom was derived from a mandate of Boniface VIII, and is illustrated in episcopal registers of 

 the time. Cf. Bishop Hobhouse's note in Drokensford' s Reg. (Somers. Rec. Soc), p. 304. 



'" He was Lord Treasurer until 1386 ; Chroti. Mon. St. Alb. (Rolls Ser.), 374. 



'" Is there indeed proof that he was much in the diocese ? Careful provision was made for his lodging 

 in London ; Cal. Pat. 1381-5, p. 122. For his gifts see Surtees Soc. Publ. ii, 43. 



'■'' Collier is cited as the authority for this opposition, Eccl. Hist, i, 574. 



'^' For dates see article in Diet. Nat. Biog. ' Langley,' with references cited. 



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