John de Ufford

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John de Ufford
Archbishop-designate of Canterbury
Term ended20 May 1349
PredecessorJohn de Stratford
(archbishop)
SuccessorThomas Bradwardine
(archbishop)
Orders
Consecration(died unconsecrated)
Personal details
Died20 May 1349
DenominationRoman Catholic
Previous post(s)Lord Privy Seal, Dean of Lincoln

John de Ufford[a] (died 20 May 1349) was chancellor and head of the royal administration to Edward III as well as being appointed to the Archbishopric of Canterbury.

Early life[edit]

His family held the estate of Offord Dameys, Huntingdonshire. His brother was Andrew Offord.[1]

Career[edit]

De Ufford was sent, along with Nicholas de Luna and Hugh Neville to Avignon in the summer of 1344 as envoys to a council held by Pope Clement VI to mediate peace during the Peace of Malestroit (January 1343 – September 1346), a breathing space for both sides during the Hundred Years War. The mediation came to naught.[2]

De Ufford was the chancellor to Edward III, keeper of both the great seal and the privy seal. He was entrusted with the privy seal in 1342 (thus becoming Lord Privy Seal),[3] and the great seal on 26 October 1345, which was the duty of the Lord Chancellor.[4][5] He resigned the office of Lord Privy Seal after 29 September 1344,[3] but held the office of Chancellor until his death.[4]

De Ufford held the position of Dean of Lincoln from 1344 to 1348.[4]

Archbishop of Canterbury[edit]

After the death of Archbishop John de Stratford, Edward chose de Ufford as Archbishop of Canterbury, though the canons of the chapter had elected Thomas Bradwardine, the king's trusted confessor, a great intellectual and diplomat. De Ufford was appointed to the see of Canterbury by papal bull dated 24 September 1348 and was granted the temporalities of the see on 14 December 1348.[6]

Death and afterward[edit]

Any developing contention between the chapter and the king was rendered a dead issue when de Ufford, already aged and infirm, was carried off by the Black Death, before being consecrated, on 20 May 1349.[4]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Sometimes John de Offord or John Offord

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Offord,_John_de (DNB 1885-1900), Charles Lethbridge Kingsford
  2. ^ Fowler King's Lieutenant p. 49
  3. ^ a b Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 94
  4. ^ a b c d Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 86
  5. ^ "Lord Chancellors and Lord Keepers: past and present". Department for Constitutional Affairs. Retrieved 10 February 2006.
  6. ^ Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 233

References[edit]

  • Fowler, Kenneth Alan (1969). The King's Lieutenant: Henry of Grosmont First Duke of Lancaster 1310–1361. New York: Barnes & Noble. ISBN 0-389-01003-0.
  • Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
  • "Lord Chancellors and Lord Keepers: past and present". Department for Constitutional Affairs. Retrieved 10 February 2006.

External links[edit]

Political offices
Preceded by Lord Privy Seal
1342–1344
Succeeded by
Preceded by Lord Chancellor
1345–1349
Succeeded by
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Dean of Lincoln
1344–1348
Succeeded by
Preceded by
John de Stratford
(archbishop)
Archbishop-designate of Canterbury
1348–1349
Succeeded by
Thomas Bradwardine
(archbishop)